MANILA - Presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he will strengthen rather than abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government if he wins as president in the May elections.

In an interview with DZRJ that was broadcast Tuesday night, Marcos said he wants to turn the PCGG, which was established to go after his family's ill-gotten wealth, into what he calls a "real anti-corruption agency."

"Well, you know it's true that it has, in its present form and in the way it was organized in 1986, maybe it could be said that they no longer perform the function that they were originally created to do," Marcos said. "However, we can go back to the idea that they are a Commission on Good Government."

Marcos noted that the country still had a big problem when it came to tackling corruption in government, and the PCGG's job to deal with it had not been finished.

"Although maybe perhaps you could say that the first time it was organized, it was really an anti-Marcos agency. Nonetheless, we could turn it into a real anti-corruption agency," Marcos said.

The former senator also expressed openness to "recreating" a body that would perform the PCGG's anti-corruption functions.

"We should look into, if not strengthening the PCGG as it stands now, is recreating some kind of body that will perform that function of anti-corruption function that the PCGG was originally formed for," Marcos said.

So far, the PCGG has recovered more than P170 billion of the Marcos family's estimated $10 billion in ill-gotten wealth since its creation in 1986, according to ex-PCGG commissioner Ruben Carranza.

In January, former Supreme Court Associate Justice and 1Sambayan convener Antonio Carpio said he expected Marcos to abolish the PCGG if he wins as president. Marcos' camp refused to comment on Carpio's remark, calling it a "purely speculative" scenario.

• READ: 1Sambayan claims Marcos to abolish PCGG if elected president
• ALAMIN: Magkano na ang nabawing nakaw na yaman mula sa mga Marcos?

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