Amid allegations of corruption against some government agencies and personnel, the government has consistently prioritized the participation of the people in its processes.
The people’s voices are always held valuable, not only during elections when the country’s leaders are elected, but because the Philippine Constitution states that government authority emanates from the people.
Under the Duterte administration, the people’s involvement in government processes was elevated to the cabinet level with the issuance of Executive Order No. 24 in 2017 which created the Participatory Governance Cluster (PGC).
“Para makamit ito, ang PGC ay bumuo ng mga mekanismo upang hikayatin ang publiko na makibahagi sa preparasyon, implementasyon, hanggang sa monitoring at evaluation ng mga programa at proyekto ng gobyerno,” Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said this will ensure that local leaders will work toward effective governance.
“Magdadalawang-isip din sila na gumawa ng katiwalian dahil nariyan ang kanilang nasasakupang sumusuri at nagbabantay sa kanilang bawat galaw,” Año said.
Presidential complaint centers were established during Duterte’s five years in office, including Hotline 8888 through the issuance of Executive Order No. 6 in 2016. The hotline receives around 4,000 daily calls, with around 2,000 actionable complaints.
Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe, Executive Secretary-Strategic Action Response Office, said their manpower almost doubled, and they are currently operating with 60 active lines from their initial 40 lines.
Año said there is also a People’s Law Enforcement Board where the public can complain against abusive cops. Duterte warned anew in his May 26, 2021 speech to imprison erring police personnel.
Duterte also began publicly naming dismissed and suspended government officials due to corruption involvement in a bid “to purge government of misfits.”
Probing bodies
Some big cases have stemmed from public complaints submitted to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) that the current administration formed.
PACC Chairperson Greco Belgica said they have received 10,632 complaints as of May 17, 2021, of which 94 have been investigated and 232 are currently being probed.
“[May] 174 na fact findings, 29 na moto propio, 29 na patuloy pong lifestyle check kung saan apat na po ang nakumpleto, 32 ang nalutas na, 10 ang dinidinig ng korte,” he said.
Belgica said those facing corruption charges include national and regional directors of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant secretary, and a National Electrification Administration (NEA) official.
“Asahan po ninyo sa mga darating pang mga araw-linggo, tuloy-tuloy po ang pagsasampa ng kaso ng PACC sa mga opisyal ng gobyerno na nakikitaan naming ng ebidensya ng involvement po sa katiwalaan,” Belgica said.
Duterte also directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to form a mega task force against corruption amid the widespread corruption in DPWH and other agencies.
“It behooves upon me to see to it na itong corruption mahinto, kung hindi…at least maputol na nang kaunti. So we are expanding the investigation sa corruption,” Duterte said in his October 27 public address.
Belgica said there are still obstacles in going after corrupted personnel. “Nandiyan ‘yung babatuhan ka ng due process. Babatuhan ka ng security of tenure.
Local government officials have not been spared from the anti-corruption drive supported by the people.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government received 455 complaints versus local officials, including 169 at the barangay level who were issued show-cause orders due to alleged abuse of authority.
At least 89 barangay captains were preventively suspended due to social amelioration program (SAP) anomalies. (PTV)/AG- jlo
