By Genalyn Kabiling
President Duterte has announced plans to dismiss more government officials for alleged involvement in corruption.
"I will be firing another set of officials. I'm sorry," the President said during the PDP-Laban campaign rally in Isabela Wednesday.
President Rodrigo Duterte (SCREENSHOT / RTVM / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
"Mahirap. 'Yan lang ano ko if you want to help me run the government at yung programa ko ," he said while discussing his campaign against corruption.
The President insisted that the country would not attain progress if corruption will not be stopped and peace and order are not maintained.
"If we cannot have law and order in this country, first and second is if we do not have the will to stop graft and corruption, believe me whether you are a Bicolano or Bisaya or whatnot, this country will never progress and develop," he said.
"Even if you give a president five terms and that will be times three, walang mangyayari sa bayan natin ," he added.
Insisting that he does not tolerate corruption, Duterte noted that he has fired many government officials including long-time allies. He admitted that he was hurt when some allies he has known since he was mayor of Davao City have allegedly committed offenses in government.
"Now I have fired so many employees. Ang masakit pa ‘yung dala-dala ko sa Davao to help me out in the early years of my presidency and they were with me through thick and thin during the campaign for the mayorship in 1988]," he said.
Last week, the President pledged to sustain the anti-corruption purge in government, saying there would be no sacred cows in this effort.
Duterte, in his visit to Negros Occidental last Friday, said he would dismiss corrupt public servants and file cases against them.
"Corruption, wala kong patience . We will continue to purge government,” he said in his remarks.
"Walang sagrado dito. Ni anak ko, ni kaibigan ko. Basta nandyan ka, nandyan ka. Pasensya ka, period ," he added.