By Genalyn Kabiling
More government officials will be fired from service for alleged involvement in corruption, Malacañang said Thursday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr.
(TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
After President Duterte expressed exasperation over the “endemic” corruption in government, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said his office would become the “official sibak announcement bureau” that will release the dismissal orders of corrupt officials.
"The exasperation specially has to do with corruption so parang mas marami pa talaga siyang sisibakin and await for further announcements I guess," Roque said during a Palace press briefing.
"Tayo na ang magiging official sibak announcement bureau dito ," he said, adding in jest that the Malacañang Press Corps will be the "anti-graft dissemination corps."
Roque warned public servants against getting involved in corrupt practices or else risk getting fired by the President.
"We will serve notice to everyone na itigil na 'yang corruption dahil kung hindi babasehin ang pangalan dito at ire-report ng media ang kanilang mga pangalan ," he added.
The President recently said he was considering stepping down from office amid his exasperation with the seemingly endless fight against corruption in government.
With corruption embedded in government transactions, Duterte admitted that he could not completely stamp out corruption within his term.
"My chase against graft and corruption seems to be endless and it has contaminated almost all government departments and offices," Duterte said during a business forum last Tuesday.
"Graft is so embedded, it is endemic and it is always a part of the territory of a transaction, especially by government,” he added.
Among the officials recently fired by the President were the entire board and management of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation over a controversial long-term lease agreement with a casino developer and top military health officials over anomalous transactions in a government hospital.