Investigating anomalous cases

EDITORIAL

There is sense in the proposal of Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano for the government to set up an organized system of investigating issues concerning past administrations in light of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office scam investigations.

The senator had expressed his disappointment with the slow pace of investigation and the unorganized manner in which investigations have been conducted.

He said since there is no Truth Commission, there is nothing to stop the President from creating either a super fact-finding body or a number of fact-finding committees in different departments to gather evidence.

Cayetano said even if a new Ombudsman is appointed, he would still need to have evidence based on facts which will have to come from different agencies and departments.

He also noted that investigations into the PCSO scam and all of the unresolved anomalies of the Arroyo administration needed to be put closure to emphasize the difference between the Aquino administration and the past administration.

“The Arroyo administration style of resolving cases was to let the issue die over time then later say that the issue is considered closed. But until you know who did the crime, what the crime is and what the perpetrators got, you cannot say that a case is solved,” he explained.

According to Cayetano, it is important for the Aquino administration to show that the Philippine government is capable of putting closure into big graft cases by completely solving the case, not only by closing these.

In this light, the Senate minority leader also called on the administration to conduct a parallel investigation in support of the Senate probe investigating the alleged PCSO scam.

He said this parallel investigation can be done by the PCSO itself or the bodies outside or apart from the agency itself.

This includes the P325M ‘intelligence fund’ which could have built 474 more classrooms, according to ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. Antonio L. Tinio.

Tinio said that the so-called ‘intelligence fund’ amounting to P325 million could have helped the shortages of critical school inputs such as classrooms.

“This huge amount could have built 474 more classrooms,” said Tinio. “We could have prevented scenarios during the school opening like that in Payatas B Elementary School where pupils can hardly concentrate on their studies because of their congested classrooms,” he added.

During the Senate probe, former PCSO general manager Rosario Uriarte said PCSO utilized P325 million for clandestine intelligence from 2008 to 2010. Uriarte bared the biggest chunk of expenditures, amounting to P138 million, was disbursed between January and June 2010, covering the period of 2010 elections.

“The PCSO fund is intended to provide for the poor Filipinos who are in dire need of health and other social services,” said Tinio. “Unfortunately, it was clearly used by the Arroyo administration as its own pork barrel to distribute material support to its political allies.”

With these anomalies, like what Cayetano said, a more organized way of solving these cases would be in order.