Zarate on probe into corruption: Little or nothing will come out of it

House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate on Thursday said he does not expect much from President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to investigate corruption in the entire government.

“Little or nothing will come out of this especially since President Duterte himself has a penchant for absolving his people even before an investigation has started like what he did to [Health] Secretary Francisco Duque, [Public Works] Secretary Mark Villar, [National Capital Region Police Office chief Major] General Debold Sinas, and many others before them,” Zarate said in a statement.

He also questioned the need to create another body under the executive to go after corrupt government officials.

“Also there is supposedly the Office of the Ombudsman to go after corrupt government officials? … Now what happens when the Ombudsman and the DOJ reached the opposite findings on their investigation of the same agency?”

“Is Malacañang saying that the Ombudsman is useless or is this anti-corruption drive is just for show?” he added.

Further, Zarate said if “sacred cows and patronage politics” remain in the Duterte administration, “no amount of corruption drive will succeed.”

“They are all bound to fail,” he said.

In a taped speech on Tuesday, Duterte ordered the Inter-Agency Task Force led by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to conduct the investigation.

He authorized the Department of Justice to decide which allegation to investigate, taking into consideration its gravity and impact on the delivery of government service.

The DOJ may create as many panels as necessary and invite or direct other government bodies to assist in the investigation. —LBG, GMA News