Watchdog to help in background check of applicants for government posts

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-crime group said yesterday it will collate information and check the background of applicants for high government positions to help President Aquino determine the integrity of those he would appoint.

In a forum in Caloocan City, Citizens Crime Watch chairman Jose Malvar Villegas Jr. said about 100 lawyers from the University of the East Law Center are coordinating with the CCW-Bantay Kurakot Task Force to see if applicants have derogatory backgrounds or have been involved in irregularities or questionable transactions.

“If the applicants have negative records, the CCW will recommend to Aquino’s screening committee the cancellation of their appointments, as part of his commitment to stamp out graft and corruption in his government,” Villegas said.

CCW secretary general Carlo Batalla cited the case of a prominent official whose nomination was deferred recently after the CCW found he was a respondent in around 75 graft and murder cases.

The nomination of a bureau commissioner was held on the same grounds, Batalla said.

“The CCW has been in the forefront of a battle against graft and corruption and has been filing cases against suspected criminals and members of drug syndicates in the country. Its Bicol chapter has also filed several cases against erring provincial officials with the Ombudsman and has helped victims of rape and illegal recruitment,” he said.

Villegas urged the private sector to help Aquino in his fight against corruption, which has eroded the moral fiber of some government officials and consigned Filipinos to poverty.