Time to breathe life into truth commission idea

With the Commission on Audit (COA) report and the newspaper’s consistent coverage, it seems the web of corruption involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for members of Congress is endemic and widespread and spans several presidencies and congresses.

With due respect to the COA, Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation, it seems now is the time to revive the proposal for the creation of a Truth Commission, which should be empowered to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation from the time the PDAF was instituted up to the present.

To insulate the investigation from politics and to ensure the integrity and transparency of the process, we suggest that it be composed of all the retired chief justices (Narvasa, Davide, Panganiban and Puno), plus representatives from civil society and the legal community. The COA, DOJ and the NBI may be tapped to help in the investigation.

—ELMER D. NITURA, member
Good Governance Advocates and Practitioners of the Philippines