Two Cabinet members under PAGC probe

Two Cabinet secretaries are under investigation for alleged involvement in government procurement anomalies, the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) said yesterday.

PAGC chairwoman Constancia de Guzman said one of the two cases involving the two Cabinet secretaries was already assigned to a fact-finding team.

"We have finished the initial evaluation of the case and we have found prima facie (evidence). We are not digging deeper as regards the investigation," she said.

"We are just starting with the other one. We are still looking for additional information. It is premature for me to even expound on this because as I said we’re still in the process of initial evaluation. That means we are gathering evidence but not yet enough to say that a surveillance and deeper probing will have to be done," she added.

De Guzman said the PAGC should ensure that the complaints were valid and not prompted by someone’s failure to get favorable deals from the concerned agencies.

Aside from the two Cabinet secretaries, there were also complaints filed against undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and other officials covered by the commission.

De Guzman said she could not reveal any information about the cases because the officials concerned might be able to "counter-strategize" the PAGC.

"There are public servants who refuse to cooperate. When we issue the subpoena for them to produce documents that can be used as evidence on the cases being handled by the commission, there are instances when they won’t comply," she said.

While they could not do anything about that before, De Guzman said Executive Order No. 531, which strengthened the PAGC, gave the commission the power to file a case against those who would not cooperate.

Meanwhile, the PAGC announced yesterday that the dismissal of former public works undersecretary Salvador Pleyto was reaffirmed, following Malacañang’s denial of his motion for reconsideration. However, he could elevate his case before the Court of Appeals.

The PAGC recommended the dismissal of Pleyto for falsifying his statements of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN).

De Guzman said he failed to submit an accurate SALN from 1999 to 2001. For almost a decade, he also repeatedly failed to indicate the business interests and financial connections of his wife, Miguela, despite consistently stating that she was a businesswoman.

Pleyto’s wife has two pawnshops, a piggery and poultry farm, and a laundry and dry-cleaning shop.

PAGC found Pleyto guilty of violating Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees as well as Section 7 of RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act requiring public officials to prepare and file a true, detailed and sworn SALN.

Aside from dismissal, Pleyto faces forfeiture of all government financial benefits and perpetual disqualification to re-enter government service.