President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that the public should expect “more dismissals to come”, adding he does not care if his whole term “would be characterized by firing and dismissal of people from government.”
The President said that until now he is staying true to his campaign promise that he will try to control corruption.
“I have fired so many undersecretaries and secretaries and most of them, those who were [in] minor [positions] were then my companions in the city mayor’s office in 1988,” Duterte said, admitting that it pains him deeply to sack officials who were once close to him.
“I don’t like [corruption]. And give us, give the Filipino a respite of corruption,” Duterte said.
The President has repeatedly said in his speeches that it only takes “a whiff of corruption” for him to fire officials.
The latest sacked official was PhilHeath interim president Celestina Ma. Jude dela Serna over alleged excessive travels, a lavish lifestyle and P8 billion PhilHealth losses under her watch.
Dela Serna was sacked earlier this month and was replaced by PhilHealth board member Roy B. Ferrer as as PhilHealth acting president and chief executive officer.
However, critics slammed Duterte for reappointing some of officials he had sacked over alleged irregularities or what Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV referred to as “recycling” of officials.
Aquino said this move sends mixed signals on the part of government on the President’s fight against corruption.
Malacanang has since defended this, saying that these instances were “exception to the rule.”
Out of more than 20 officials that the President fired, Roque said there were only three officials accused who were reappointed by the President.
These officials include newly-appointed Agriculture undersecretary Jose Gabriel “Pompee” M. La Viña, replacing Bernadette Romulo Puyat, who is now the Tourism secretary.
La Viña was previously appointed by Duterte as Tourism undersecretary. Prior to that he also served as Social Security System commissioner but his term ended when it was renewed by the President due to alleged corruption issues. Notably, La Viña was Duterte’s social media manager during his campaign.
The two other officials who were reappointed in the past months were Nicanor E. Faeldon and Melissa Avanceña Aradanas, who are currently serving as deputy administrator IIII at the Office of Civil Defense and deputy secretary general of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, respectively.
Faeldon was former Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief who was suspected to be involved in the P6.4 billion shabu smuggling through BOC.
Manuel Serra, Jr., was also reappointed by the President as member of the governing board of Philippine Coconut Authority after his name was included among those fired commissioners of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor together with Avanceña Aradanas for allegedly failing to meet regularly as a collegial body and for making unnecessary trips abroad.