“There was a short exchange” between President Rodrigo Duterte and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael Sueno, whom the Chief Executive fired after a cabinet meeting on Monday night.
Malacañang is citing “loss of trust and confidence” as a reason for dismissing Sueno.
In an ongoing press conference in the Palace, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said, the exchange was not heated.
He noted, the President did not berate Sueno.
“There was no accusation. There was just questioning. ‘Did the Secretary travel abroad? Did he know the background of the situation?’ He (Duterte) wants to know if the Secretary engaged in some activities,” Abella recalled.
When asked by reporters if the issue has something to do with a deal on Austrian firetrucks and if it has something to do with allegations of corruption, Abella refused to disclose any details.
"The President is a lawyer. You have to give it to him. He does due diligence," Abella replied when asked if Duterte made some background investigation of his own on the DILG chief.
Abella also explained, it took sometime for them to talk about the dismissal of Sueno because they wanted to come up with more concrete statements on the matter.
The President has yet to announce a replacement for Sueno.