MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte will let the 64 Bureau of Customs (BOC) employees – allegedly set to be dismissed from their jobs – to explain their sides in a meeting in Malacañang next week.
Duterte on Thursday said he tasked the dismissed BOC employees to report at the Palace on July 15 to explain their involvement in corruption.
“Dito ko sila pina-report Monday,” Duterte said. “I will relieve them of their duties. As yet, they are not ousted or dismissed because of their right to be heard. But ipinatanggal ko na sila sa trabaho nila ngayon to prevent further damage sa government interest.”
“Let me correct you. I’m talking about a number of employees sa Customs,” he added. “I will be firing those who are facing charges and those who are or who have been implicated in shenanigans.”
“So at this early, they might be also learning what’s going on here and they are also hearing us. It’s a simple case of ‘you resign or I file charges’ and that goes for all of us. We are workers of government and we serve the people, period,” Duterte said.
He added the implicated personnel may be players involved in a shipment done within the agency but he will leave it up to the Office of the Ombudsman to file cases against them.
“Yes, those who are facing charges must be in connection to a shipment. Those who are the players. Well, they have to go,” Duterte said. “The Ombudsman is the prosecutor sa mga taga-gobyerno who are facing charges.”
Duterte last week said that he planned to make a wholesale firing of high-ranking Customs officials as he eyed the takeover of soldiers in the “corruption-laden” government office./PN
