President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Thursday that he is open to appointing Senator Panfilo Lacson as chief government anti-graft prober to look into and act on graft and corruption cases in the government.
The President said however that he is still awaiting a study being conducted by the Office of the Executive Secretary before drafting an Executive Order officially naming Lacson to the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft and Corruption Council.
“Well, open tayo pero hinihintay natin iyong…proposed executive order undergoing study by the Executive Secretary. Hinihintay ko pa ‘yung findings nila dito,” the President said.
He pointed out that other recent events affecting the country, such as the recent floods, misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, and the crash of two shipping vessels in Cebu, have made focusing on working towards the possible appointment of Senator Lacson next to impossible but he vowed he would ask for updates from the Office of the Executive Secretary.
“I will follow it up with the Executive Secretary — dahil medyo matagal-tagal na ring pending ang proposal ni Senator Lacson,” the President said.
According to the President the Inter-Agency task force is composed of representatives from the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice and the Commission on Audit. (PND)