Solicitor General Guevarra: “I think the deactivation of the PACC was along that line, but…”
SOLGEN — On Saturday, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra spoke about the decision of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to abolish the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission was created in 2017 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte in order to investigate alleged corrupt presidential appointees.
After his inauguration last June 30, the President issued Executive Order No. 1 which abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said that the PACC is “not in line with streamlining”.
“Basically the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission… is not in line with streamlining. First of all, its nature is investigative, which can also be conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman,” she said.
The Press Secretary also said that the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission gathers evidence on presidential appointees and then files a case with the Ombudsman.
She added that a complaint can directly be filed with the Ombudsman even without the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.
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On Saturday, Guevarra justified the President’s decision to abolish the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.
“During our first cabinet meeting, the President gave all of us a free hand in reorganizing our respective agencies and streamlining our operations to promote a more efficient allocation of scarce government resources,” Guevarra said. “I think the deactivation of the PACC was along that line, but surely it was not because the PACC was ineffective.”
Guevarra also recounted that he had a “meaningful collaboration” with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission in the overall campaign against corruption in government during his time as justice secretary.
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