MANILA – Without disclosing any names, President Rodrigo Duterte said that another member of his Cabinet is headed for the chopping block upon his return from Papua New Guinea today.
In a speech before the Filipino community on Friday evening at Port Moresby, President Duterte said that he will fire the government official as part of his administration’s intensified drive against corruption.
“Sinabi ko na I will try to stop corruption and when I go back (to Manila), meron na naman,” the President said. “Talagang tanggalin kita kahit pa kaibigan kita, sorry na lang.”
During his speech, the President also recalled that he recently fired a government official for lying to him during one of his Cabinet meetings at the Malacañang Palace.
“I fired a Cabinet member during a Cabinet meeting for lying. Alam mo may tinatanong ako sa kanya, ‘Did you consult your legal office?’ Sabi niya, ‘No.’ Si [Finance secretary Carlos] Sonny [Dominguez] naman itinulak niya ‘yung cellphone niya – ‘yung cellphone… nakalagay doon, ‘This guy is lying,’” he said.
“So nag-init ang ulo ko because I should trust him. At saka maski na hindi ko kababata, nobody would foist a lie like that. Na nag-init ang ulo ko,” he added.
President Duterte has been vocal in his fight against corruption since the start of his administration in 2016. He has already fired a number of his Cabinet members, some of them his close friends, due to corruption links./PN
