LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The founder of the Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) commended the officers and members of the 500-strong Cordillera chapter for being one of the top three top performing chapters of the anti-crime and corruption watchdog in the country over the past two decades.
CCW-CAR founder and chairman lawyer Jose M. Villegas, Jr. said the CCW-CAR chapter was able to sustain the intensified anti-criminality activities that gained positive results and was able to ensure the proper documentation of their activities for their timely reporting to its central office.
Aside from recognized as one of the top performing anti-crime and anti-corruption watchdog in the country in the forthcoming 25th anniversary celebration of the organization by November, Villegas said that Leo Malecdan will also be given the recognition as one of the top performing regional chapter chairperson for having rose from the ranks as an original member of the group for over two decades.
“We are elated over the sustained exemplary performance of our Cordillera chapter in terms of anti-crime and anti-corruption efforts because it seems that we have to work extra hard to stamp out corruption in our country and provide better quality of life for our people,” Villegas stressed.
The CCW chairperson claimed that apart from anti-crime efforts, the group is now actively involved in anti-corruption initiatives following the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the CCW and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACCC) for both organizations to help in curbing the proliferation of rampant corruption, especially in the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH).
CCW, VACC and the National Contractors Association of the Philippines (NACAP) are the three non-government organizations which are accredited by the DPWH as observers in the conduct of the bidding of projects in the different parts of the country.
However, Villegas explained that after two years of being an observer, the group realized that it was not able to do so much in curbing corruption in the agency because of alleged pre-arranged bidding, thus, the group was constrained to give up its accreditation so that it will be able to ventilate pertinent corruption activities in the proper venue.
He added the group’s national legal counsels has been brought in the picture to study and facilitate the filing of appropriate charges against erring DPWH officials who are in cahoots with unscrupulous contractors that result to the implementation of substandard infrastructure projects thereby short-changing the government and the public.
Villegas claimed their anti-crime and anti-corruption efforts is pursuant to President Rodrigo Duterte’s aggressive campaign to achieve lasting peace and curb the proliferation of corruption in the country the soonest so that the billions of pesos being earmarked for government projects will benefit the Filipinos in the future.
He said similar anti-corruption efforts will also be initiated in other government agencies and local governments in the different parts of the country through the assistance of the group’s various chapters that were established to empower the people to be involved in anti-crime and anti-corruption activities. By HENT
