By Marita Moaje
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has vowed to uphold transparency and accountability in public service, as Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac assured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that corrupt practices will not be allowed to persist in the government.
In a news release Monday, Cacdac noted the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to hold accountable those public officials involved in anomalous transactions.
“Nagsimula ang lahat ng ito ng first cabinet meeting namin (All this started at our first cabinet meeting) at the beginning of the year. He expressed his steep disappointment in the 2025 budget, the insertions. That began a full accountability, integrity in public service, yan ang pinangangatawanan at malinaw yan sa mga mensahe ng Pangulo (that is what we are implementing, and that is clear in the President’s messages),” Cacdac told the Filipino community in Shanghai during the second day of the Bagong Bayani ng Mundo: OFW Serbisyo Caravan at the Philippine Consulate General Office on Sunday.
“May EO 94 na siyang tinalaga na Independent Commission, malinaw na mayroon determinasyon na ilahad ang katotohanan (There is an EO 94 that has appointed an Independent Commission, it is clear that there is a determination to reveal the truth) and to hold people accountable and responsible.”
Marcos, on Thursday, signed Executive Order (EO) 94, creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), directed to investigate, receive, gather, and evaluate evidence, intelligence reports, and information on irregularities in government flood control and infrastructure projects.
During his meeting with the Filipino community, several OFW leaders expressed anger and frustration over corruption issues happening in the Philippines, citing this as the reason why many OFWs hesitate to return to the country.
To prove his commitment to uphold transparency, Cacdac cited his recall order issued to labor attaché Macy Monique Maglanque from her post in Los Angeles, California, to face investigations in connection with alleged irregularities in flood-control projects in Bulacan.
“May isang labor attache sa Los Angeles, pina-recall namin kasi dinadawit ni Senator Panfilo Lacson dito sa anomalous transactions sa Bulacan. Presidente daw siya ng isang construction company with a dubious track record. Kasosyo pa daw ang former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary sa anomalous flood control projects sa Bulacan (There is a labor attache in Los Angeles, we have recalled her because Senator Panfilo Lacson implicated her in anomalous transactions in Bulacan. She is said to be the president of a construction company with a dubious track record. The former DPWH Secretary is also said to be a partner in anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan),” he said.
“She will have to come home from LA, that’s where she’s posted, and face investigations, not just facing the independent commission na itinalaga ni Pangulo but sa sarili naming administrative investigation sa DMW (appointed by the President, but in our own administrative investigation at the DMW). I promise you, we vow to pursue the track of accountability here,” Cacdac said.
He also cited the complaints that the DMW had filed before the Ombudsman against former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Arnel Ignacio and two of his deputies over a controversial PHP1.4-billion land acquisition deal.
Cacdac earlier noted red flags in the transaction, including the release of PHP700 million to the seller before the deed of sale was finalized, the inclusion of PHP97 million worth of demolished condominium units in the valuation, and seven major items that had bypassed the approval from the OWWA Board of Trustees.
“Sa hanay namin sa (Here at the) DMW, we also have officials who we held accountable on our side… Sa DMW side, we will do our part,” he said. (PNA)
