President Duterte has offered anew to resign after expressing frustration with the lingering corruption in government.
Addressing the nation Monday night, the President admitted having difficulty in fighting corruption in the bureaucracy, saying there seems to be no end in sight.
"Ewan ko kung sabihin ko ito sa inyo --- I offered to resign as President. Pinatawag ko ‘yung lahat ng… Sabi ko na I have --- kasi nagsasawa na ako (I don't know if I'll tell you but I offered to resign as President. I called everyone and said I am exasperated),” Duterte said.
"Talagang wala ng katapusan itong corruption. Mahirap talaga pigilin (There is no end to corruption. It is hard to stop it)," he added.
Duterte lamented that even the alleged "pastillas" bribery scandal plaguing the Bureau of Immigration has continued despite the ongoing investigation.
"Maski ‘yang mga pastillas, hanggang ngayon. Even with the investigation or the clamor for government to be --- I said to shake the tree, wala. Sige hanggang ngayon, it’s being committed everyday (Even the pastilas, it is still being committed. Even with the investigation or the clamor for government, I said, to shake the tree, nothing. It's being committed everyday)," he said.
Duterte, a former Davao City mayor and prosecutor, conceded that it was hard to stop corruption in government. "Now, can you stop it? You cannot. There is no way," he said, recalling his experience in prosecuting corruption cases.
He claimed that the land registration office was notorious for its alleged corrupt practices.
"You are really notorious even in the provinces of --- sometimes the employees run to that mill of the grid of bureaucracy. Mag-imbento ng mga peke na dokumento. Marami diyan (They invent fake documents. There are many). I prosecuted about seven itong p***** i**** Land Registration," he said.
Back in 2018, the President said he was mulling about stepping down from office, admitting he was tired of battling corruption in government. Duterte said he was having doubts if he could stamp out the “endemic corruption” in the bureaucracy.