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Guevarra cites two goals of gov’t corruption probe

Menardo Guevarra

THE Department of Justice-led investigation into corruption in the entire government has two goals, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

These two goals are one, prosecute offenders and two, prevent recurrence, Guevarra said in a statement.

“We have a twin goal, one is to prosecute those whom we shall find, after due investigation, to have been involved in corrupt practices. Our output is not just recommendatory. We shall file cases directly with the Ombudsman. Our other objective is preventive in nature; install anti-corruption mechanisms in government agencies, educate the citizenry on the evils of corruption, promote values of integrity and civic-mindedness, and the like,” Guevarra said.

President Duterte last week directed the DOJ to investigate corruption in the entire bureaucracy.

“I hope that all government workers, officials are listening. This is a memorandum from me to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra. The subject is investigating corruption allegations in the entire government,” he said in a taped speech aired Tuesday.

“I will concentrate the last remaining years of my term fighting corruption kasi hanggang ngayon, hindi humihina, lumalakas pa lalo. Para na tuloy naging inutil ang mga opisyal ng bayan, na wala talagang magawa with the onslaught of corruption,” the President vowed.

For his part, Guevarra accepted the task given by the President, saying the new assignment probably was the toughest yet from Malacañang.

“Apart from my usual responsibilities as SOJ (Secretary of Justice), this new assignment is the toughest I have ever received from the President. I will need all the support and cooperation of the entire government machinery to achieve this singular objective of substantially reducing corruption in government,” Guevarra said.#