(Eagle News)–The Department of Justice will invite the Commission on Audit, the Civil Service Commission and the Ombudsman in the probe of corruption in the entire government.
The Department of Justice made the revelation as it announced the task force that would conduct the probe was the same task force that probed the allegations of corruption in PhilHealth.
That task force recommended the filing of charges against incumbent and former PhilHealth officials, including then-PhilHealth chief Ricardo Morales.
The DOJ said the core group was agreed upon during Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s meeting with senior officials of the DOJ including Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento, and the National Bureau of Investigation’s director Eric Distor on Tuesday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte gave the order for the all-encompassing probe in a taped public address.
According to the DOJ, the core group led by the DOJ was composed of the NBI, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, the National Prosecution Service, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
The DOJ said during the meeting, the methods of securing information on instances of corruption and possible approaches for the conduct of the probe were also discussed.
“As stated in the memorandum (dated October 26), the President granted the DOJ the authority to decide which allegations of corruption to investigate taking into consideration the gravity thereof and the impact on the delivery of government services,” the DOJ said.
In giving the directive to the DOJ for the probe on Monday, the President lamented corruption continued to exist in government.
He railed against what he said was corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways, but defended DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, noting what he said was his many accomplishments.
In previous public pronouncements, the President also noted Villar, the son of property mogul Manny Villar, was already too rich to be corrupt.
