SEN. Manny Pacquiao is batting for a full-scale lifestyle audit of all public officials to weed out corruption in government.
The retired boxing champ, who is hoping to get elected as the 17th President of the Philippines, said he intends to spend his first 100 days in office on a housecleaning job.
On top of his list is the construction of a jumbo-jailhouse that will hold all corrupt public officials that will be netted by a top-to-bottom lifestyle investigation starting from the national posts down to the barangay levels.
The PROMDI Party candidate said any official found to have unlawfully enriched himself using taxpayers’ money or used his office to amass wealth will be immediately arrested and charged in court.
He announced that he is also looking at ways to toughen up penalties under RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and other laws against excesses by public officials.
To stop raids on the public coffers and irregularities in government contracts he said he plans to make plunder exempt as a pardonable offense.
“The programs and governance platforms of presidential aspirants …we have been hearing those for decades now. How many elections have we gone through?” he lamented.
“What is imperative is for us to elect a leader who has a genuine concern for the people, the underprivileged. One who has known how it is to go without food, to lose a home, to join the ranks of the unemployed,” he added.
Despite failing to get high marks in poll surveys, Pacquiao said he remains hopeful of his chances because of his support among the poor.
“I am not worried. My supporters understand what it is I am fighting for in this election. We are the majority; we can win this campaign for genuine reforms,” he said.