Senators welcomed on Thursday, July 7, the decision of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. abolishing the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Office of the Cabinet secretary.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said ‘’streamlining is a good development for me as I am for eliminating duplication of functions, maximizing the time of everyone in govt to be as busy and productive as humanly possible.’’
‘’I hope these lead to some form of savings. Malacañang should announce how much of the people’s money is going to be saved by their reorganization efforts,’’ he pointed out.
Pimentel is considered the shoo-in Senate Minority Leader when the 19th Congress starts on July 25.
Returning Senator Francis ‘’Chiz’’ Escudero, on the other hand, said that it is within the President’s power and decision with a view to perhaps streamlining the Executive Department.
‘’Less bureaucracy is always better so we can have more money for projects and programs that directly benefit our people instead of just being spent on salaries and wages of government officials and employees,’’ he explained.
For former Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, abolishing the PACC is a good step.
"It was revived out of annoyance for the Ombudsman before. This streamlines the process. All corruption issues will be under jurisdiction of Office of the Ombudsman,’’ he said.