DOJ: Revamp PCGG, abolish PASG

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has recommended the complete overhaul of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and replacement of its five-member board.

She also recommended the abolition of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG), an agency that she said had already served its purpose.

At the same time, De Lima announced the resignation of Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

Malacañang has accepted Libanan’s courtesy resignation, which was submitted to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. last July 2.

De Lima said the PCGG has hardly accomplished its mandate of going after the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses and their cronies.

“I wanted to recommend the re-composition of the PCGG. We need a new approach. They have a very important mandate,” De Lima told a news briefing at Malacañang.

She said the PCGG commissioners had failed to live up to their task and have taken a long time to fulfill their mandate.

“They should be very conscious about the time (that had passed by). They must be looking at how to wrap up their mandate. We need the right people in PCGG,” De Lima said.

De Lima, however, stressed that abolishing the PCGG is not an option. “It might be too radical and an abdication of its mandate,” she said.

De Lima said Malacañang has yet to name the replacement for Libanan, who she hailed for instituting reforms in the Immigration Bureau.

Libanan served for three years as chief of the Bureau of Immigration, an agency under the DOJ.

De Lima also said that she had already discussed the proposal with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula.

The PASG, an agency created by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under Executive Order 624, has several law enforcement agencies under its call, including the NBI and the Bureau of Customs.

“I’m going to recommend the abolition of the PASG. I have already discussed with NBI Director Gatdula. I directed the recall of the NBI agents assigned to PASG as a prelude to my recommendation to abolish PASG,” De Lima announced.

De Lima also slammed Commissioner Ricardo Abcede for designating himself as officer-in-charge of the PCGG.

De Lima said Abcede’s memorandum last July 14 is void since it did not have her approval. Abcede designated himself as OIC of the PCGG until President Aquino appoints a new commissioner.

De Lima said the position remains vacant since the process of determining who is next in rank and the most senior official of the PCGG is being processed by the DOJ.

“Once a determination has been made, an OIC will be designated,” she said.

De Lima ordered Abcede to explain why he should not be charged for declaring himself as OIC without approval of the DOJ.

De Lima also noted the criticisms against the PASG as a duplication of the Bureau of Customs.

Several business groups have also accused the PASG of extortion.

“They hold our container vans hostage and they make us pay ransom money,” according to Agapito Mendez, president of the Professional Customs Brokers Association.

Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara, whose red sports car was seized by PASG agents, said the agency must be abolished for redundancy.

He said only Customs is authorized to collect customs duties, not the PASG.

Bichara pointed out the executive order creating the PASG must be revoked because Arroyo had no lawmaking powers. With Aurea Calica