Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano stated that while the Aquino administration has been very good in the prevention of corruption, it seems that the mechanism it put out in holding past administrations accountable is lacking.
The senator acknowledged that the government may be preoccupied with other equally important issues but stressed the need for the government to be able to multi-task amid numerous problems plaguing our country.
“We cannot ignore the massive graft and corruption that happened in the past administrations,” the senator stated.
Cayetano also noted that there is no need for government departments to relegate the responsibility of fighting systemic corruption within their ranks to other anti-corruption agencies. “The heads of these departments already report directly to a president who promised transparency and accountability in government,” said Cayetano.
In response to the recent slew of corruption-related cases, the senator reiterated the importance of the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill as an effective prevention and prosecution mechanism.
“The cases against the Ombudsman, the plea bargaining, and the AFP could have been avoided or the guilty parties easily apprehended had there already been an FOI law in place,” Cayetano stated.
While the senator expressed his agreement to the presence of a high-level inter-agency committee evaluating the FOI bill, he still called on fellow lawmakers to continue to push for the urgent passage of the bill.
“Regardless of whether Malacañang deems the FOI urgent or not, it is my hope that Congress itself will push for the immediate passage of the bill,” said the Senate Minority Leader.
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