Ochoa tells PCGG to pitch in fight against corruption
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. has asked the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to help realize a corruption-free country by decisively pursuing plundered wealth and returning it to the national coffers.
In his message to PCGG’s 25th Anniversary on Tuesday, Ochoa said President Benigno Aquino III was four-square against corruption, and the PCGG must pitch in to restore integrity and honesty in all transactions of government.
“This is now the present and compelling challenge faced by our government and our anti-corruption agencies like the PCGG. We must investigate thoroughly, punish those who have raided the country’s treasury and effect a ‘climate change’ in government – from a graft-ridden regime in the past to an integrity-driven government today and tomorrow,” Ochoa said.
The PCGG was created in 1986 by then President Corazon Aquino under a revolutionary government, whose task is to recover wealth illegally-acquired by the Marcoses and their cronies.
In the next two years, the Executive Secretary said, the PCGG will wind up its task and this underscores the need for the commission to work double time and conclude its work with success.
He rallied the commission not to waver on its stand against stolen money, saying it was a fair warning to public officials and employees that offenders will be unmasked, their loot will be taken away and their social standing in government will be stained forever.
“With this approach, we will surely make inroads in eliminating corruption in our bureaucracy. This must be one effective deterrent against corruption,” the Executive Secretary said, but added that this will only materialize if investigation was thorough and cases were “water-tight in evidence and arguments.”
By fulfilling its mandate, Ochoa said that the “PCGG will be needed more than ever. It shall have proven to everyone that it has not outlived its usefulness.” (PCOO)
