Five gov’t agencies in PACC’s crosshairs

the list of agencies with the most number of complaints and many on our list were agencies involved in collection,” Jimenez - mond Hotel in Manila.

On the PACC list were the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Bureau of Customs (BoC), Bureau of Internal Revenue - ministration (NEA) and Department of Tourism (DoT).

Jimenez said the PACC received more than 15 complaints daily and many of the complaints involved the DPWH, BoC, BIR and NEA.

He, however, declined to provide further information on their investigation.

The Tourism department was included in the list because of a recent scandal involving the placement of P60-million worth of tourism ads in a television program produced and hosted then-DoT Secretary Wanda TulfoTeo’s brothers, Ben and Erwin Tulfo, on state- run People’s

Television.

Jimenez said the PACC will still look into the scandal even has started its own probe.

“This [ad placement] is a very serious matter because it involves alleged embezzlement of more than P50 million. That is plunder,” he added.

Teo resigned as DoT chief and Cesar Montano, Tourism Promotions Board chief operating on Monday, days after the discovery of the questionable “Buhay Carinderia” project that was to be featured in the tourism ads.

But PACC Commissioner Manuel Luna said the resignation of public officials would not prevent the commission from further investigating cases

“We have fact- finding and lifestyle check powers, so we can look into the case involv resigned for purposes of recommending to the President further action,” Luna added.

He said they would look into the criminal aspect of the Teo case.

“We will be very hard and harsh on grafters and corrupt if they resign from their post and see to it that justice is served because that is what the people expect from us,” Luna added.

Jimenez during the news conference ticked off the accomplishments of the PACC over the past three months.

Cases included controversial resolution of a special panel of the Department of Justice clearing Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim and other suspected drug traders.

The commission has recommended to the President the preventive suspension of the members of the special panel of prosecutors namely acting prosecutor general Jorge Catalan, Prosecutor Michael John Hamanang and Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rassendul Rex Gingoyon.

It recommended that Judge Aristotle Reyes be subjected to a lifestyle check and that a show-cause order be issued by the President - vestigation and Detection Group who handled the case.

The resolution of the DoJ special panel on the Espinosa-Lim case was ordered reversed by then-justice secretary Vitalliano Aguirre 2nd before he resigned.

The anti-corruption body was instrumental in the resignation of then- Labor undersecretary Dominador Say, who was accused of extorting P6.5 million from the president of a manpower agency for land- based overseas Filipino workers.

The latest case to reach the PACC involves alleged smuggling activities of a syndicate operating at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that has City, the BoC and the Manila International Airport Authority.