Members of the Duterte Cabinet are open to be placed under a lifestyle check by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
Nograles said he and the rest of the Cabinet officials are “not shielded” from any lifestyle check amid President Duterte’s firm anti-corruption campaign.
“All of us in the cabinet are open to lifestyle check,” he said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in Manila yesterday. “I would assume the moment I took this job, I have been put on a lifestyle check by the government. We are open to that,” the former Davao City lawmaker added.
PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica had earlier urged Cabinet members to volunteer to undergo a lifestyle check, citing that Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade offered to be placed under such inquiry. “I’m not forcing them, it’s their choice. if they do that, that will be honorable,” Belgica said.
The PACC official also disclosed that two Cabinet members are under investigation over corruption complaints in line with the agency’s “no-mercy” campaign to combat the menace. Belgica, however, said it was unfair to identify the concerned officials since the investigation is still ongoing.
Nograles said he was unaware about the Cabinet members currently being investigated by the PACC. “I don’t know who have been placed under lifestyle check by the PACC. For all I know, it’s me,” he said.
Asked if there was a need to establish a new department dedicated to fighting corruption in government, Nograles said it was up to Congress to decide on the matter. “PACC is doing its job so I don’t know if there’s a need for a department unless Congress initiates the move,” he said. (Genalyn Kabiling)
