President Duterte is taking his anti-corruption campaign to a whole new level as he revealed that he will fire all officials and employees of an entire commission due to corruption allegations.

Duterte made the announcement during the 84th anniversary celebration of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Malolos City Friday evening.

The President, while not specifying which commission he was referring to, said he does not care how many officials were involved.

“On Monday, I will fire about one commission. Lahat sila (all of them),” Duterte firmly stated.

“Wala akong pakialam kung nakisali lahat o dalawa, tatlo (I don’t care if only two or three were involved), you have to go out,” he added.

“Because I do not think that it will exist without your knowledge at bakit hanggang ngayon (and why until now you’re still there),” he continued.

Duterte, however, hinted on the irregularities in the commission and said that the officials directly involved should know that it is them whom he was describing.

He gave all people there the weekend within which to tender their resignations to at least save face

“Now, if you are somebody who has been in and out of the country six times since you were appointed in September using public money, umalis ka na (you better leave),” he said.

“May Linggo (There’s still the weekend). There’s still a time, enough for you to ponder and tender your resignation,” he added.

“Who told you you can go abroad anytime six times using funds of the government? ‘Di ba sinabi ko sa kanila, ‘wag kayong mag-travel ‘pag hindi ko alam (I already told you to not travel without my knowledge). That’s junket, and you’re wasting money,” he continued.

To put emphasis on his resolve to end corruption in government, Duterte mentioned how he fired former Budget Undersecretary Gertrudo de Leon for alleged corruption.

“Wala akong patawad-tawad (I will not give you another chance). The last that I fired, ‘yung undersecretary ng Budget siya ‘yun (the Budget undersecretary in) Malacañang,” he said.

“Gusto kong sipain sa mukha eh, sa totoo lang. Nahiya lang ako kasi nandiyan si [Executive Secretary Salvador] Medialdea, kaibigan niya (I really wanted to kick him on the face. I just didn’t because Medialdea was there and they are friends). I fired him,” he added.

Duterte said he had fired a lot of his appointees due to corruption issues. Earlier this year, he revealed that he had fired almost 100 of his appointees in a single week due to corruption allegations.

Among the officials Duterte sacked due to corruption allegations was former Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno who was reportedly involved in the procurement of overpriced firetrucks from Austria.

It was also revealed that one of the reasons why Duterte sacked former Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chief Dionisio Santiago was because of his alleged involvement in the corruption in the agency by making unnecessary trips abroad and alleged ties to drug personalities.

Duterte earlier said that he fired Santiago because he was offended when the latter made a negative comment about the mega-drug rehabilitation facility that was constructed in Nueva Ecija.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos

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