Press Statement

PRESS STATEMENT
(Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV)
March 2, 2012

The Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago Movement (MPPM), together with Samahang Magdalo (SM), joins the Administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III in stamping-out graft and corruption in this country.

Graft and corruption is an obstacle that must be fought in the national and the local levels. The President has done his best to weed out the obstacles for his reform agenda. However, this endeavor must be complemented with concrete efforts from the local government units.

The filing of the Plunder Case in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, is the cause that we have to support.

While I personally believe in the truthfulness of the complaint, only the ombudsman is empowered to decide on the matter. I trust that under the auspices of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, this case will be expeditiously investigated if only to demonstrate that justice reigns in this country.

I am also calling on the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to look into Mayor Oscar Montilla’s tax declaration for possible delinquencies, as well as the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct a comprehensive audit and scrutiny of the financial condition and management of the City from 1998 onwards.

Likewise I appeal to other government agencies to exercise their legally mandated powers in order to arrest and address the corruption problem in Sipalay City.

It is only fitting and proper that Mayor Montilla and his cohorts be suspended pending investigation of such appalling anomalies to ensure that the truth will be ferreted out. We must give an example if we want to put substance in this drive against graft and corruption.

The fact is, we need a functional local government unit which is not corrupt. When LGU is not corrupt, the basic services implemented by the national leadership will surely fall in the doorstep of every household.

Indeed, we cannot go beyond the government that we deserve. If we want to have a better government, we must work for it. Fighting corruption in every locality is the duty of well-meaning citizens. It is only by fighting corruption that we can defeat corruption itself. //