MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 19, 2014) – The Philippine government vowed to fight graft and corruption as part of President Aquino’s campaign pledge during the 2010 presidential election.
A government spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr., doused fears from some quarters which said that Aquino’s dedication to fight graft may waver over time. He said the public must remember that Aquino was elected on anti-graft and corruption platform and that he will not waver from his political promise.
“Tandaan natin na ang administrasyong ito ay nahalal dahil sa panawagang ‘kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,’ kaya batayan ng administrasyon ang prinsipyo na kinakailangan ang mabuting pamamahala. Good governance is essential to attaining the political and economic development objectives of this administration,” he told reporters.
And with regards to the continuing Senate and Department of Justice’s investigation on the P10 billion pork barrel fund scam, Coloma said the government will pursue all the leads in the inquiry and prosecute people who committed wrongdoings.
As the Senate and the DOJ tighten its focus on Janet Napoles and several lawmakers in connection with the scam, there were reports about some lawmakers who maintained their own non-government organizations intended to be used for the diversion of their pork barrel allocations.
“Lahat ng mga umano’y katiwalian hinggil sa paggamit ng pondo ng bayan ay dapat siyasatin, alamin, at mabigyan ng tamang proseso para matunton kung merong mga lumabag sa batas,” he said.
Coloma said the government carried out other measures to speed up its inquiry as the National Bureau of Investigation investigates Napoles-related NGOs and their connection to alleged pork barrel irregularities.
He said these include setting up an inter-agency anti-graft commission composed of the Department of Justice, Commission on Audit, and the Office of the Ombudsman which will work continuously to find out all those involve in the scam.
So far, among the major lawmakers implicated in the controversy were Senators Juan Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada who all denied the accusations against them.
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