The fight against corruption, review of the war against illegal drugs, and enforcement of the Philippines-United Nations joint program on protection and promotion of human rights are the priorities of Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra in the next six months.
Guevarra said that the Department of Justice (DOJ)-led Task Force Against Corruption (TFAC) will launch this month “an advocacy campaign on all media platforms, and get its resident Ombudsman program going in select government agencies,” Guevarra said.
TFAC was formed on Oct. 27, 2020 on orders of President Duterte. It was mandated to investigate corruption in government until the President’s term ends in June 2022.
Last September, the DOJ signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Office of the Ombudsman (OMP) in the deputation of prosecutors and Commission on Audit (COA) auditors as deputy Ombudsmen in corruption-prone agencies.
“This Agreement shall govern the deployment of Resident Ombudsmen in the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), BOC (Bureau of Customs), BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), LRA (Land Registration Authority), PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) and other agencies that may be identified later on as graft-prone or with high corruption risk,” the MOA stated.
On illegal drugs war, the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) had submitted to the DOJ for review 52 cases of killings during anti-illegal drugs operations.
After the review, Guevarra ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last October to investigate and conduct case build-up against the policemen involved in the 52 incidents where 56 persons died.
“The NBI will submit in a few days an initial report on the 52 PNP-IAS cases that the DOJ endorsed to the NBI for case build-up,” he said on Sunday, Jan. 2.
“Meanwhile, prosecution offices in the various regions are coordinating with the PNP-IAS in these regions for the examination of thousands of other administrative disciplinary cases against police officers involved in anti-narcotics operations,” he also said.
Guevarra was appointed DOJ secretary in April 2018. He is expected to tender his resignation once the President steps down from office in June.
Prior to his DOJ appointment, Guevarra served as senior deputy executive secretary in the Office of the President.