Senate’s ‘new majority’ drafts anti-corruption measure

Look who’s drafting a new anti-corruption bill.

The "new majority" in the Senate is drafting a comprehensive anti-corruption bill anchored on overhauling the present procurement and contracting rules to make sure that every transaction is fair, aboveboard and untainted by any jueteng money.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws and electoral reforms, said the strong anti-corruption measures will be drawn from three bills seeking reforms in the procurement and contracting system filed separately by Senators Sergio Osmeña III, Robert Jaworski and Loren Legarda.

"The anti-corruption measure is a major commitment of the new majority in the Senate," Angara stressed. Among the new majority are Senators John Osmeña and Tessie Aquino-Oreta, who once admitted receiving million-peso "goodwill money" as shared winnings from a high-stakes mahjong game in the previous administration.

The two returned the checks to the "donor," former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson.

Angara gave the statement following the claim of US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone that corruption is the main reason why investors are not keen on putting money in the Philippines.

Angara cited a study by the World Bank indicating that roughly $40 billion had been lost due to corruption in the past 20 years.

"The $40-billion loss is equivalent to the country’s total foreign debt!" he exclaimed.

The Department of Budget and Management has also said that more than P95 billion in potential public revenues had been lost due to corruption. A minimum of P74 billion has also been lost from build-operate-transfer projects, according to an official government estimate.