Sen. Chiz Escudero welcomes PCGG abolition but…
Sen. Chiz Escudero is backing proposal to abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), saying the agency’s existence is overdue.
The new officials of the PCGG are eyeing to close down the operation of the agency in two years’ time after 25 years of recovering monies and properties illegally acquired by the Marcoses and their cronies.
PCGG Chairman Andres said that before the abolition, the commission will turn over all pending litigation against the Marcoses and their cronies to the Department of Justice, while the assets recovered and confiscated to the Department of Finance.
“I agree to the proposal by the current PCGG officials, however, an audit and accounting of all the sequestered assets and its value at that time, especially those that have since been dissipated as well, should be made,” Escudero said.
Escudero said the commission should also be able to present to the public the present value of its forfeited assets to address allegations against the PCGG that its officials helped squander the little assets the agency had recovered.
“This is important, to make public all the compromise deals the commission has made in the past. How much did the state gain or lose?” Escudero said.
Escudero said the move to turn over pending cases and the recovered assets to different agencies of the government will augur well for the state’s coffers. “It’s one less funding for the government which really needs to judiciously appropriate funds to more important things such as education,” he added.
