DOJ starts receiving complaints vs corrupt government agencies

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday started accepting complaints against government agencies allegedly involved in corrupt practices as it renamed the “mega task force” to “Task Force Against Corruption.”

The public can start sending their complaints through [email protected], the official e-mail address of the action center headed by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, according to DOJ spokesperson Emmeline Aglipay-Villar.

Complaints can also be sent through the DOJ’s temporary hotline number 8521-2930.

The DOJ action center is tasked to receive information, complaints and requests to investigate certain persons, acts or agencies allegedly involved in anomalies and irregularities.

Members of the task force met on Wednesday and identified the functions of the task force.

Villar earlier said the public is encouraged to support the task force’s efforts to rid corruption in the bureaucracy and file their complaints if they witnessed irregularities in the government.

“The information or report will be evaluated by a committee that will recommend appropriate action whether to refer to a specific agency or for further investigation, or for presentation to the core group of the task force,” she said.

Guevarra said he appreciates the efforts of the media in coming up with the “mega task force” label on the special investigation panel, but he said they wanted to have a simple name for the group.

“We have noted that the media has been referring to the DOJ-led task force as the ‘mega task force’ and we really appreciate the importance that the media has given to this inter-agency group,” Guevarra said.

“However, we’ll be happy to be referred to simply as the ‘Task Force Against Corruption.’ For simplicity, we do not want a name that is full of bluster, as we intend to work quietly but effectively,” he added.

He said they are set to name the special composite teams in accordance with the specific subject of their investigation.