President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he will leave “many letters of dismissal” before flying to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China.
In a speech during the 7th Union Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in Pasay City, Duterte again cited the possible termination of several government officials due to alleged corruption.
“If you ask me if I’m happy with the job [the presidency], I am not because of so many corruption and I have to fire,” he said.
“I’m leaving for China, and before that I will leave so many letters of dismissal. You have to [do] something more than just [issue] a warning.”
It was not the first time Duterte mentioned the termination of supposedly corrupt officials under his watch.
Two weeks ago, he announced the looming dismissal of corrupt officials next week. Though he did not specify what government agency was involved, he hinted that those he would sack had the “authority to convert.”
As he vowed to keep his promise not to tolerate even a “whiff of corruption” under his administration, Duterte has urged the public to be assertive in reporting corrupt activities in the bureaucracy.
He has also called on the public to directly inform him of corruption cases or call the government’s hotline 8888.
He said he was only awaiting the confirmation of the allegations of corruption against the perceived corrupt officials.
“I vowed to lessen the corruption, but I will fire more next week. I am just waiting for [the] report, he said in a previous speech.
“I told them, ‘‘You give me your report and if I find it justifiable, you can stay. But if there is corruption, I’m sorry.”
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, Duterte left on Wednesday to participate in the three-day forum from April 25 to 27. This will mark the fourth time he will be in Beijing.
This year, the latest government official to leave the administration was former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan.