VICE President Jejomar Binay has directed key shelter agencies (KSAs) to curb red tape and stop corruption in delivering services.

“We are morally bound to institute reforms that would deter opportunities for corruption in every government transaction,” said Binay in a statement.

The housing czar earlier issued a memorandum requiring the government’s shelter agencies to submit reports on the reforms they have made in eliminating practices of red tape and corruption in their offices.

“Corruption is an evil that weakens and destroys the trust of the people—the very foundation of a government,” said Binay, who is also the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

He said that KSAs should institute reforms in order to improve efficiency and ensure effective and honest delivery of housing services to the people.

He created a Transparency and Accountability Group (TAG) within the shelter agencies to investigate reports of alleged graft and corruption committed by personnel and officers of the shelter agencies.

“The creation of the TAG would ensure that President [Benigno] Noynoy Aquino [3rd]’s daang matuwid policy will be strictly adhered to by the housing sector,” Binay said.

It will be recalled that Binay’s first directive upon his assumption of office as housing czar was to ensure that clients of the shelter agencies would be served under the principle of good governance and transparency.

His anti-corruption campaign had resulted in the dismissal of some personnel of the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG who were found to have been involved in the illegal transactions of a real estate developer Globe Asiatique that apparently victimized innocent homebuyers.