Atienza: Ex-SC justices should probe PDAF anomalies

MANILA, Philippines - BUHAY party-list Rep. Lito Atienza on Thursday filed a bill seeking the creation of an independent body that would investigate anomalies in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Atienza said that House Bill 4345 seeks to investigate the alleged abuses "from the time the pork barrel system was created during the 8th Congress in 1987 up to the present 16th Congress."

“We filed this bill in response to the people’s clamor for a speedier investigation into the PDAF scam. As of now there’s a continuing buck-passing and seeming avoidance of the truth," the party-list representative said.

The bill said that President Aquino should appoint seven retired justices of the Supreme Court as members of the Independent Commission.

“This relieves the Senate and the House of Representatives, many members of which have been implicated in the pork barrel scandal, from investigating itself, thus allaying fears of a possible whitewash," Atienza said.

He added: "These retired Supreme Court Justices’ integrity is beyond reproach and the people can be assured that they would conduct the investigation without any political or personal considerations."

Atienza said that with the Independent Commission, the public would be assured of a speedy and fair investigation of the public fund scam and Congress would be able to move on and focus on "more pressing day-to-day concerns."

“If we handle this scandalous abuse of public office and wanton raiding of public coffers and guilty parties are punished, we would come out a stronger democracy, without which, the very foundations of our institutions will continue to be damaged. With this Commission, we are assured of the truth coming out, the guilty being punished and the innocent absolved,” said Atienza.