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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines starts graft probe into ex-president |
| 2010-07-31 |
| [The Nation (Nairobi)] Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Friday launched a "Truth Commission" with broad powers to investigate alleged corruption and vote fraud by his predecessor, Gloria Arroyo. "The process of bringing a necessary closure to the allegations of official wrongdoing and impunity has begun," Aquino said in a statement announcing he had signed an executive order to form the commission. "It is tasked with investigating and establishing the truth regarding the serious allegations of wrongdoing in the past nine years supposedly involving government officials and their accomplices in the private sector." The body will look into allegations Arroyo cheated her way to victory in the 2004 presidential election, as well as large-scale corruption cases, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters. Among the graft issues to be probed are allegations Arroyo's family and government officials acted improperly in negotiating a 329-million-dollar Internet broadband deal with a Chinese firm, de Lima added. She said that if Arroyo and others refused to co-operate with the commission, they could be prosecuted for perjury or obstructing justice. "They can testify or not at their own risk," de Lima said when asked whether Arroyo would have to report to the commission. |
| Posted by:Fred |