Presidential candidate and Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said his administration will investigate the Bureau of Customs (BOC) first for alleged corruption if elected as the country’s next president.

Domagoso made the statement during the presidential debate hosted by CNN Philippines at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Sunday, Feb. 27.

Asked if there was an instance that corruption happened under his watch, Domagoso recalled the time when someone offered him 'P5 million a day' to not push for the clearing operations of street vendors in major roads in the city.

“Gone in 48 hours, somebody tried, and offered, nagpahatid five million a day, tatlong taon na hindi parin sila nakakabalik. Kung talagang gusto mong mag ayos sa gobyerno, kayang gawin ‘yung imposible (three years passed they still haven't been able to return. If you really want to fix the government, you can do the impossible),” he said.

The Manila mayor also highlighted the need to to pursue digitization of government transactions to stop corruption in the country.

“In the case of the City of Manila, as a government, we have adapted to technology, the only way to solve corruption is to limit human discretion in government transactions. And yes we did it, that’s why we have GoManila.com,” he said.

Through GO Manila, Domagoso said corruption at the Manila City Hall has slowly decreased.

“Sa awa ng Diyos tumaas ang income ng Maynila, naging episyente ang koneksyon, walang nang discretion halos, hindi perpekto, pero unti unti, naturally, namamatay ang korapsyon sa city hall and that can be done in the entire country, from Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon (By the grace of God, Manila's income has increased, the connection has become efficient, there is almost no discretion. It is not perfect, but gradually, naturally, corruption in the city hall is decreasing and that can be done in the entire country, from Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon)."