(Eagle News)– For Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel should be under the Department of Justice.
Guevarra added, however, that he “respect(s)” the decision of the House of Representatives to approve House Bill 7376.
The bill, which was approved on third and final reading on Tuesday, May 15, aims to “eliminate the overlapping of functions and consolidate the legal services in the government into one…”
Senator Bam Aquino, nephew of former President Cory Aquino who set up the PCGG, criticized the move, saying it will “institutionalize historical revisionism,” among others.
The Aquinos are the political rivals of the Marcoses, whose alleged ill-gotten wealth is supposed to be the subject of recovery by the PCGG.
But according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, under the bill, the powers of the PCGG and the OGCC were merely transferred to the Office of the Solicitor General.
“So tingin ko, ‘yung investigation stage, lahat ‘yan nagawa na, at nasa trial stage na tayo bagama’t napakatagal nga ‘yung trial stage na ‘yan, so wala pong function ang PCGG na i-aabandon dahil ang OSG po ang magpapatuloy po ng gawain ng PCGG,” Roque had said
