Complaints piling up at task force vs corruption

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice-led Task Force Against Corruption (TFAC) has received 98 complaints against government officials who are allegedly engaged in graft and corrupt practices.

Since President Duterte announced the creation of the TFAC on Oct. 27, the DOJ has been receiving reports of alleged irregularities committed by government officials and employees.

DOJ Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar said as of Dec. 1, the DOJ’s Action Center has received 35 complaints while the secretariat, through the Office of the Secretary, has received 63 – or a total of 98 complaints.

“However, some of the complaints received pertain to the same subject so this could be further reduced,” said Villar.

Members of the inter-agency task force have been holding meetings to finalize the setup of their operations center during the past weeks in order to make the newly formed TFAC fully operational.

Last Tuesday, they discussed the functions of the Operations Center of the TFAC and the units under it, such as the secretariat and records custodian, Operations Center Information System, the Operations Center Evaluation Committee, special investigation teams and the system of filing and receiving.

“Once the department order detailing the duties and functions is issued, it will be fully operational,” said Villar.

She expects the department order to be issued “in the coming week” but that would depend on the comments of the task force members who are set to have another meeting.

The TFAC, headed by the DOJ, would be composed of the National Bureau of Investigation, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, Office of the Special Assistant to the President, National Prosecution Service and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

It would also invite the Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman, but with due consideration of their independence as constitutional bodies.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said they have received many complaints concerning Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-related projects.

The task force has identified the government agencies it would prioritize in its corruption probe, namely DPWH, the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

The BI and the LRA are agencies under the DOJ.