Lacson: Duterte defense exempted Duque, Villar from graft probe

President Rodrigo Duterte appears to have exempted some members of his Cabinet from the government-wide investigation on corruption he himself ordered, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Wednesday.

Lacson made the remark after Duterte formed a Department of Justice-led task force to investigate corruption in government.

Duterte, however, said that Health Secretary Francisco Duque and Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar were not involved in the corruption plaguing their respective agencies.

"Maganda ang move. Ang problema lang, at the outset, mag-create ng mega task force sa to address all corruption, and in the same announcement, meron agad exceptions," Lacson said in an interview.

"Parang ang message doon huwag isama kasi hindi kasali. Doon pa lang, parang it has already started on the wrong foot," he added.

"Parang effectively without saying it, parang sinasabing huwag niyo isama si Sec. Duque or Villar. I am not trying to say ang dalawa may kinalaman sa corruption, far from that," Lacson said.

"Pero para magkaroon kaagad at the outset mayroon agad na hindi dapat galawin, paano mag-succeed ang effort to curb corruption? Di ba dapat lahat isama?" he added.

In the same televised address where he announced the formation of the anti-graft task force, Duterte said anew that he saw no reason to oust or suspend Duque from his post.

This was despite the fact that the Senate and two House panels recommended charges against Duque over the PhilHealth mess.

Despite lamenting over alleged corruption in the DPWH, Duterte also said that he trusted its chief Villar.

In the recent address, the President reiterated that he has "nothing against Villar."

Lacson said the probe on corruption should have started in 2016 when Duterte sat as President so that concrete results will be seen during his term.

He pointed out that the administration no longer has the luxury of time to see the logical conclusion of these efforts.

"Remember this is just the investigation phase. Punta pa ito sa prosecution and after DOJ, ire-refer pa ito sa Ombudsman. And Ombudsman sa mandate nila, meron pa silang fact-finding at minsan ang field investigation nila, takes one to two years. Eh wala na, tapos na ang 2022," Lacson said.

Nevertheless, the senator hopes strong and damning evidence will be produced to put to justice erring government officials both from the executive and legislative branches.

He expressed confidence on Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra who will lead the investigation: "With the track record of SOJ Guevarra being virtual head of the mega task force, ako mataas naman ang kumpyansa ko." -NB, GMA News