Former Pres Aquino and Cesar Purisima Charged with Graft and Corruption

Charges were filed against former President Benigno Aquino III and ex-Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima for alleged failure to collect some P100 billion in taxes from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (PSPC) for gasoline shipments from 2004 to 2009. It was filed by two former officials of the Bureau of Customs and a newspaper publisher, former Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales, former BOC district collector Juan Tan, and Headlines News Today publisher Lourdes Aclan.

Aquino and Purisima were charged with violation of Section 3(e) and 4 of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Section 10 of RA 9851 in relation to Executive Order No. 226 or the Institutionalization of the Doctrine of Command Responsibility in all government offices, and Sections 3601 and 3604 of the Tariff and Customs Code, which pertains to smuggling.

The complainants said Aquino deserves to be held liable for the mess under the concept of command responsibility, since he has direct control and supervision over government officials.

Also included in the charges were PSPC Chairman and President Edgar Chua, Vice President for Communications Robert Kanapi, Country Tax Manager Nigel Avila and other John Does.

This is the fifth case filed against Aquino since he stepped down from office on June 30. He is facing three other complaints in connection with the botched Mamasapano raid and another one over the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Now: Graft, smuggling, corruption raps filed before @OmbudsmanPh vs. ex-Pres. Aquino, ex-DOF Sec. Purisima pic.twitter.com/pQgfuAP32F

— Xianne Arcangel (@xianneangel) September 14, 2016

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President Aquino Boast Achievements Even though Philippines Infrastructure is one of the Worst in Asia

Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said in a radio interview after a meeting with his economic managers, “For the past 40 years, the economic growth is the highest. Now, if we are able to hit 7 to 8 percent growth this year, we will even beat the record for the past 60 years. So, it is during my time that we experience) a boom. Even though the country is just reaping the benefits of the economic and fiscal reforms instituted by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The government of Aquino has added nothing new.

In his SONA last year Noynoy said that more Filipinos are now able to buy cars, thus necessitating the need to construct or improve roads which he has not done. He also said that the government will improve public transport systems like the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) which is clearly in dire need of rehabilitation since now under the Aquino government "only 8 out of 20 MRT trains left working."