The former head of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) was not only removed for his statements against the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, but also due to alleged abuse of power and reported collaboration with drug lords, the President’s spokesman claimed on Monday.
Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said former DDB Chairman Dionisio R. Santiago was told to resign for allegedly being involved in various anomalies. This includes using taxpayers’ money for trips abroad and accepting favors and receiving gifts from drug lords.
“I would like to confirm that General Santiago was let go by the President not only because of his statements on the [mega-rehabilitation] centers being a mistake. He was also let go because of complaints that General Santiago was using taxpayers’ money for junkets abroad,” Roque said in a news briefing.
“One of the complaints that reached the President was a trip to Austria, where, in addition to bringing family members, General Santiago brought six of his closest personnel, including a girl Friday,” Roque added.
Santiago resigned after receiving a call from Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea telling him to vacate his DDB post upon the orders of President Duterte.
The directive to resign came days after Santiago made public his statements against the construction of a mega-rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija, branding it as “impractical” and “a mistake.” However, Roque said there is more to the forced resignation than what appears on the surface, as Santiago was apparently involved in various anomalies.
In a complaint letter filed by the employees union of the DDB, Santiago was accused of traveling to Vienna, Austria, allegedly with a “big delegation composed of him and his family and six unqualified and favorite DDB employees” to participate in “an ordinary narcotic drug intersessional meeting.”
Aside from this, Santiago was also accused of going to the US with his “mistress” and select DDB employees purportedly on official business.
Both trips, according to the employees union, were paid for by taxpayers’ money.
Roque described the removal of Santiago as “a very strong message to the bureaucracy the President will not tolerate junkets, unnecessary travels abroad.”
The Palace official also said Santiago “may have benefited from a house, which may have been given to him” by the slain Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog. Parojinog was killed in July by police forces serving six search warrants against his properties, leading to an exchange of gunfire that resulted to his death and of six others.
“That shows his [Duterte’s] resolve against graft and corruption. As far as he is concerned, you don’t even have to be proven,” Roque said.
“If you’re tainted in anyway by corruption, he will not hesitate to fire individuals,” Roque added.