President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Department of Justice to form a mega-task force to address, once and for all, the rampant corruption still going on in many government departments and agencies.
“Alam ko, this country continues to be plagued with corruption,” Duterte said during his national address aired on October 27.
“I have made a pledge to the people of the Philippines na ‘yung oath of office ko, part of it really is to protect government interest. It does not say there, it’s not included, but in its totality that is what it means: protecting government interest,” the president added.
He instructed Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to formally formed this agency to curb the corruption during remainder of his term until 2022. As a response, Secretary Guevarra immediately acted on the order by getting the best people, some are lawyers, to be the members of the mega-task force.
Meanwhile, Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez has endorsed five anti-corruption measures for possible inclusion in the legislative agenda of the House of Representatives. The five measures, still pending in the committee, include the 30% share to Ombudsman for the amount forfeited due to corruption; inclusion of anti-corruption in the school curriculum; protection for the whistle blowers and the current anti-corruption agency to be attached to the Office of Ombudsman. Romualdez is hoping that these measures be included in the agenda and to become a law by the end of this year.
