MANILA – The House of Representatives passed on third and final reading a bill that sought the abolition of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).
Voting 162-10, the lawmakers approved House Bill 7376, or the proposed “Office of the Solicitor General Charter,” which abolishes the PCGG, the agency tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his allies.
Aside from the PCGG, the bill authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez abolishes the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel and merges it with the Office of the Solicitor General.
“The bill aims to eliminate the overlap of functions among government agencies, to consolidate state legal services into one office, and to effectively address the expanding needs of government-owned and -controlled corporations toward the improvement of fiscal management and good corporate governance,” said Alvarez.
“The bill also intends to concentrate and enhance government efforts for the full and effective recovery of ill-gotten wealth and properties, including the efficient investigation and prosecution of cases,” he added.
Under the approved bill, the Office of the Solicitor General shall be an independent and autonomous office attached to the Office of the President for budgetary purposes.
Formed during the time of late President Corazon Aquino, the PCGG was tasked to recover around $10 billion plundered by Marcos and his allies during his 20 years in power marked by massive corruption and abuse.
The PCGG has since recovered P170 billion, or about $3.4 billion, in ill-gotten wealth, as well as jewelry, art and other assets. President Rodrigo Duterte last year said he considers replacing PCGG with an “anti-graft” agency./PN
