BUDGET Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Friday confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte sacked the department’s undersecretary for Legal and Liaison Group Gertrudo de Leon but refused to give additional details on the official’s dismissal.
Reached for comment by Manila Standard, Diokno said thru a text message that the firing of the official was “true.”
But when pressed to give additional details, especially on the grounds of the dismissal, Diokno said he could not “comment further” on the issue. He also refused to say if an investigation on the official’s activities was conducted.
In a Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry event in Manila on Thursday, President Duterte said he fired an undersecretary of the Budget department amid allegations of corruption.
The Chief Executive said “I wanted to slap him. I wanted to kick him. I fired him for corruption,” without naming the official in a speech.
Duterte said he would not publicize the name of the official because he did not want to “shame the family.”
In the same speech, Duterte also said he fired three employees from his office who were “influence peddling.”
Last March, Duterte gave signs of sacking National Irrigation Administration head Peter Tiu Laviña, who later resigned.
He also fired Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno in April for the questionable purchase of Austrian firetrucks.
Two days after, he said he fired Undersecretary Maia Chiara Valdez of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization over rice importation issues.
In May, the Chief Executive publicly fired Benjamin Reyes of the Dangerous Drugs Board.
Last month, Duterte told Information and Communications Secretary Rodolfo Salalima to resign.
This month, Duterte fired Energy Regulatory Commission chief Jose Vicente Salazar on charges of misconduct, neglect of duty, and other anomalies.
Later, he also dismissed from office Police Director Joel Pagdilao and Chief Supt, Edgardo Tinio whom, he said, had links to drug lords.
During the campaign period in the run-up to the presidential elections in May 2016, Duterte vowed to run a corruption-free government to win back the trust and confidence of the people.