President Rodrigo Duterte said the “radical changes” he will be making in the days to come involve placing agencies that are prone to corruption under the Office of the President.
Although the President did not identify any particular office yet, he said he will announce the transfer of agencies under Office of the President in the upcoming cabinet meeting.
The President also ruled out the possibility of declaring martial law nationwide, saying that “it’s not feasible.”
“It wont work…I might think of something else. It’s going to be a divided nation,” he said in a press conference at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 after he led its inauguration. “What made martial law unpopular is the abuses, unbridled, unfettered. I will simply not allow it. I will allow free speech to the fullest.”
He also noted that he has to fix the Philippine National Police and local governments, especially the nonchalant attitude towards the problem on criminality.
“Local governments should more to fight crime,” he said.
The President has also said that he has already declared a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao, which is still in effect.
In a media briefing Wednesday upon his arrival from a three-day visit in Korea, Duterte warned everyone, including government officials and criminals that he will be making “radical changes” in public order and security because of “simply too many crimes.”
He also said that those offices that go “beyond his control” will be placed under the Office of the President.
The President has declared martial law in the entire Mindanao island amid the clashes between the government troops and the Maute group terrorists in Marawi City May last year.
The Congress has granted the President’s request to extend martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2018 to address the terrorism threat.