THE Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday said it will conduct a lifestyle check on all government officials, even as it asked President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend prosecutors who dismissed the complaint against self-confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa and Cebu businessman Peter Lim.
In a letter addressed to the President, PACC Chairman Dante Jimenez recommended the preventive suspension of Assistant State Prosecutor Michael John Humarang, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Rassendell Rex Gingoyon and acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan pending investigation on their possible administrative liability.
It also called for a lifestyle check on Lucena Regional Trial Court Judge Aristotle Reyes, who was a member of the Department of Justice investigating panel that dismissed the complaint.
The PACC said the prosecutors should be investigated by the Office of the President for gross neglect of duty and manifest partiality in the performance of duty that caused “undue damage” to the government.
“Something is fishy. The dismissal of Espinosa drug case will not be taken sitting down by the PACC. Our mandate is to assist the Office of the President to investigate corrupt and erring public officials in relation to the performance of their duties, and this is exactly what we will do,” Jimenez said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in a press conferece at the Manila Yacht Club, PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica announced at a press conference Tuesday at the Manila Yacht Club that the agency would conduct lifestyle checks on all government officials.
The commission, which has jurisdiction over presidential appointees nationwide, will conduct the check on all government employees “who have taken [an] oath,” Belgica said.
Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Acosta on Tuesday welcomed the PACC recommendation to conduct a lifestyle check on all government officials.
“That is very much welcome,” she told the Manila Standard. “This would ensure the smooth implementation of the anti-corruption campaign of the Duterte administration,” she said.
Lawmakers, however, were less supportive.
Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, an administration ally, seemed amused that the lifestyle checks were announced in the posh surroundings of the Manila Yacht Club. Maricel V. Cruz, Rio N. Araja
“They better make it clear on what branch of government they will conduct their lifestyle check,” Albano said.
Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, an member of the opposition, said the lifestyle check will duplicate the functions of the Ombudsman.
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin, also with the opposition, echoed Alejano’s view.
“The announcement by PACC is nothing new as the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission are the other agencies mandated by law to undertake lifestyle checks,” Villarin said.
“Because conducting it demands a thorough and comprehensive process. It should not be used to target specific persons or for partisan purposes. Doing it objectively is key to gain the trust and support of our people. Otherwise it will just be a mere publicity stunt,” Villarin said.
In its letter to Duterte, the PACC also urged Duterte to order the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to explain why its officials should not be held administratively liable after it was revealed that they did not submit to the DOJ the transcript of Espinosa’s admission of his involvement in the illegal drug trade during a Senate inquiry in November 2016.
“The incompetence in [the] preparation of complete and comprehensive complaint to stop illegal drugs brought a great deal to perpetuate miscarriage of justice,” Belgica said.
The prosecutors are also facing a separate probe by the National Bureau of Investigation as ordered by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Aguirre has since ordered the review of the dismissal of the charges against Lim, Espinosa, convicted drug lord Peter Co and other suspects.
The dismissal is now considered “vacated,” and both parties are encouraged to submit evidence to support their claims.