Duterte named lawmakers in corruption probe a ‘diversionary tactic’

MANILA, Philippines – Progressive groups and former Ifugao representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte was using a “diversionary tactic” when he named several alleged corrupt lawmakers to distract the public from using a vaccine. unauthorized in some soldiers. .

ACT-CIS representative Eric Go Yap said he would call an investigation into the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), and criticized it for not getting the side of House members, including himself, before the anti-corruption agency put their names on a list of allegedly corrupt legislators.

Opposition senator Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Liberal Party, also criticized the public disclosure of alleged corrupt lawmakers without “hard evidence” and questioned the president’s motive.

Duterte on Monday night named Baguilat, Yap and six other House members along with six district engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who allegedly received bribes and engaged in other corrupt practices while in office. (See related story in Regions, page A10).

President’s decision

The president, however, emphasized that his disclosure “was not a condemnation or an accusation” of those on the list.

His spokesman, Harry Roque, questioned the accusation of diversionary tactic against the president, saying Duterte’s decision to reveal the names of lawmakers was part of freedom of information.

“The president does not need a diversionary tactic for something that he himself had revealed. Why did we divert attention from him when it was a revelation from the president himself? “Roque said at a press conference.

He said the president wanted to send the message to lawmakers and DPWH that they should “get in shape because the good morning is over.”

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said that the fact that some soldiers had already been inoculated with a vaccine made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, which the president himself revealed on Saturday, was in itself an act of corruption.

“Corruption is the smuggling of unauthorized vaccines and allowing their use by public officials, presumably using public funds,” Renato Reyes, Bayan’s secretary general, said in a statement Tuesday.

The use of the Sinopharm vaccine not only violated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, it also “mocks the FDA and insults our health leaders,” he said.

“Whether public funds were used or the vaccines were donated by China in exchange for the approval of contracts, this constitutes corruption,” he added.

Only 1 cabinet member

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday that some members of the Presidential Security Group and only one member of the Cabinet had received the vaccine.

He refused to identify the Cabinet member because he did not want to violate “his right to privacy.”

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) President Danilo Ramos urged Congress and Carlito Gálvez Jr., who is in charge of the government’s national vaccine program, to investigate the “illegal vaccination” of various soldiers.

“Before there was a VIP COVID-19 test, now a VIP vaccine is happening. This is an affront and a serious disrespect to our front line doctors who are risking their lives to fight the pandemic, ”he said.

Baguilat on Twitter denied the corruption accusation against him.

“We expelled from Ifugao the engineer who allegedly asked for an illicit commission using my name, but I am the accused,” he tweeted Monday night.

“It is a diversionary tactic because unregistered Sinopharm vaccines are smuggled and our soldiers became guinea pigs. That should be investigated, ”Baguilat said later in a text message to the Inquirer.

In a statement, Pangilinan criticized the president and members of his inner circle for being silent on “clear and concrete evidence” of actual corrupt acts. He cited the overpriced purchase of COVID-19 test kits and the reported smuggling of tons of illegal drugs through the Customs Office.

“Is this really an anti-corruption campaign, or is it a campaign against the opposition and is aimed solely at securing submissive allies?” he said.

Public document

Roque said the president had explained to him that the list was a public document.

He noted that Duterte was criticized last month for hiding the names of lawmakers linked to corruption in public works. The president reasoned that he had no jurisdiction over members of Congress and did not have to investigate a separate branch of government.

The president was in a situation of “damn if he does, damn if not,” Roque said.

Speaking to reporters Monday night, Yap accused PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica of “witch hunting.”

At the press conference in Itogon, Benguet, where he serves as the province’s manager, Yap said he would seek a Congressional investigation into the PACC when the House resumes sessions next month.

According to Yap, Belgium was the source of numerous accusations against lawmakers after the PACC official was charged with corruption in October for allegedly diluting a smuggling investigation into alleged wrongdoing at Duty Free Philippines.

Yap, chairman of the House appropriations committee, also said some Benguet politicians he did not identify engaged in “black propaganda” to link it to public works irregularities.

The House’s investigation into the PACC would help provide safeguards in the law creating the PACC so that none of its employees are implicated in wrongdoing, Yap said.

Workgroup

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday that at least two lawmakers on the president’s list were also named in complaints filed with the Anti-Corruption Task Force, which he heads.

The attorney general refused to identify the two legislators “until we find something substantial” against them.

Guevarra said the task force was still investigating the information it received about some members of the Chamber.

He said the task force presented the president with an update on its investigation on Monday.

The secretary said he had not seen the PACC report to the president, which Malacañang could refer to the multi-agency working group led by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“If it is complete on its own, the PACC can present it directly to the Office of the Ombudsman. Otherwise, the president can refer it to the working group led by the Department of Justice … for validation, further investigation or backlog of cases, “he said.

Reacting to the president’s disclosure, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said Tuesday that he would relieve the six district engineers who were implicated from their current positions and reassign them elsewhere.

The president had asked Villar to give him the names of district engineers and their assignments across the country and said he would reorganize them.

‘Wake up call’

Civil Service Commission member Aileen Lizada said Tuesday that the reorganization at DPWH should be a “wake-up call” for agency officials, especially those used to the “perks” of the job.

“If you are there for benefits, grease the money, you are prioritizing yourself and that is no longer a public service. Don’t use public service for personal gain, ”he said.

He regretted that some district directors enjoy perks like eating out or checking into hotels, courtesy of contractors who are afraid to speak up.

Management generally conducts a reorganization every two to three years to avoid familiarity, but corrupt officials must be fired and prosecuted, Lizada said.

—With reports from Melvin Gascon, Marlon Ramos, Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Nikka Valenzuela, and Vincent Cabreza

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