We're your partner, not prosecutors.
Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Chairman Greco Belgica reminded government agencies on Wednesday, April 28 that they are their partners--not enemies--in the mission to weed out corruption in government.
“PACC has no intention to be your nemesis or prosecutors, we want you to be our partners against corruption,” Belgica said during the signing of the reaffirmation of integrity and pledge of cooperation and oath of honesty with the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“The President expects you to be cleansing your own ranks. We warn, however, if you fail this expectation, this anti-corruption commission will do the job for you. It's either you do it or we find someone else to have it done,” he added.
He also issued a stern warning to public servants that once they are caught engaging in illegal activities, it will serve as their first and last offense.
“We know that many government agencies have been the centers of controversies and alam natin ang alam natin, wag na po tayong maglokohan (We all know this, let’s not fool ourselves). From this point onward, anyone engaging in graft, one strike po tayo,” Belgica stressed.
“We will press all our powers...to make sure that no one gets away with these illegal activities. I urge you all to toe the line,” he further said.
The PACC chief explained that entering into a partnership with various government agencies allows them to establish command centers that would serve as the focal office in the monitoring, reporting, and the resolution of the cases of corruption there.
This way, PACC will get the help it needs in handling the “overwhelming” number of complaints of corruption from the public.
“This is why we are boosting our resources and multiplying our efforts by deputizing both the public and private sectors and offices of the government to increase our workforce and to help us in our ongoing investigations,” Belgica explained.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Department of Health (DOH) have been identified as the agencies with the most corruption-related complaints.