Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano questioned the failure of the Aquino administration to hold erring officials of the past administration accountable.
“So what happened to President Aquino's promise to go after the sins of the past administration? Where are the cases? Where are the facts?” he asked.
He said the Aquino government should work to double or triple its prosecution efforts because when this administration turns a year old in June, people will no longer accept that its actions are limited to the criticism of the past administration.
Cayetano cited the case of former President Arroyo, who immediately filed a case against her predecessor, ousted President Joseph Estrada as soon as she assumed office in 2001.
“Whether we agree on it or not, they did their homework. This should serve as the Aquino administration’s wakeup call.” the senator said.
“We always read in the papers that there are anomalies in the DPWH, that there were projects that did not go through public bidding. We also discovered anomalies in the GOCCs but where is the accountability?” he further asked.
Cayetano noted that when the Aquino government abolished the Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption and the Truth Commission was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, no government agency has initiated an investigation into the alleged irregularities committed by the past administration.
“Who’s conducting the investigations of the issues they promised they were going to investigate last elections? So far, the House and the Senate have been the ones investigating,” he pointed out.
“Although the President is doing a good job in making sure that there is no corruption in his government, I think that they lack action in running after the past administration,” said the senator.
“Whether we call it a commission or a fact-finding committee, through an independent body or even using the DoJ (Department of Justice), we have to chase after those who should be accountable to the people. Even departments could do their own investigation,” Cayetano stated.
The senator also said the Aquino administration should not rely on Gutierrez's impeachment to hold corrupt people accountable.
“The Ombudsman impeachment case should not be the sole focus of the administration’s effort to end to corruption. Equal effort should be exerted on prosecuting individuals who are directly involved in graft and corruption, and also in arming the administration itself against corruption,” he stressed.
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