MANILA -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Wednesday said that he
was ‘”sad” to let go of some government officials he appointed because of
alleged corruption or misconduct, especially those who supported his
presidential campaign.
“You know, if you’d notice, karamihan kong nawala sa akin (most
of the ones I’ve lost) are the very first person who…but I’m very sad that they
are the very first to go, early on as Cabinet member...” Duterte said Wednesday
during the presentation of the New Generation Currency (NGC) banknotes and
coins in Malacañang.
Duterte said what made him sad was he believed that the people he
appointed actually supported his crusade to bring about genuine change in the
country, including the fight against corruption within the government.
“But just the same…there’s no way of telling. Yung maglapit sa’yo
ng ganun-ganun (That someone approaches you) and you thought you might
ever fall into the trap of believing na (that) you are with the crowd for
change,” he added.
The President said that while he appreciated how some government
officials would take foreign trips to
benefit the country, he did not approve
of junkets.
“You know, if you go to other places to attend important meetings that
may affect the country, I would appreciate it. If it’s really…work, task,”
Duterte said.
“Pero kung (But if it’s), climate change dito sa (here
in) Brussels, then climate change sa (in) Tokyo, climate change dito
sa (here in) Indonesia, climate change sa (in) Africa…you’ve
spent millions for that and I do not see any improvement…,” Duterte said, not
elaborating if he was referring to a certain government official.
Duterte has repeatedly mentioned that he would not think twice to sack
government officials involved in even a "whiff of corruption" and has
even fired several officials already.
As he lamented about letting go of some government officials, Duterte
mentioned the surname “Romulo” referring to Alberto Romulo, the father of newly
appointed Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat who
replaced Wanda Tulfo-Teo.
“Itong si (This guy) Romulo, by the way, the father of
Bernadette--people might start to ask questions--he was one of those there with
Sonny (Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III) urging me to run
and I said I could not because wala akong pera (I didn’t have
money),” Duterte said.
The elder Romulo served as senator during the administrations of former
Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos and held other positions under the
administrations of former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino
III.
Romulo-Puyat replaced Teo after the latter resigned when the Commission
on Audit questioned the PHP60-million payment by the DOT for ad placements on a
television show hosted by her brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo on PTV 4, a
state-run TV network.
Prior to being appointed as DOT chief, Romulo-Puyat was Undersecretary
for the Department of Agriculture since July 2017. (PNA/By Azer Parrocha )
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