Palace: Marcos displeased over alleged bribe attempts on Remullas
President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN)
President Marcos was dismayed over the alleged attempts of a congressman and a contractor to bribe Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla and his brother Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Marcos was displeased over the attempts despite the ongoing investigations into corruption.
"Ang pakiramdam po ng Pangulo, hindi po siya natuwa (The President felt displeased)," Castro said on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
"Ang reaksiyon niya dito noong binanggit po ito ay hindi po siya natuwa dahil hanggang ngayon po kahit na po nagpapaimbestiga siya ng korapsyon, mayroon pa rin pong gusto na mangorap ‘di ba sa mga opisyal natin na siyang nagpapaimbestiga at tumutupad sa batas para mapanagot itong mga corrupt officials o mga corrupt individuals na ito (His reaction when this was mentioned was that he was not pleased, because even now, despite ordering investigations into corruption, there are still those who want to engage in corruption, including among our officials, even as there are those who are conducting investigations and enforcing the law to hold these corrupt officials or corrupt individuals accountable)," Castro added.
While the President was dismayed over the alleged bribe attempts, he did not make any directive about the matter, considering his confidence to the Remullas.
"Hindi po natuwa ang Pangulo but wala siyang particular na iniutos dahil alam naman po niya na si Sec. Jonvic at pati po si Ombudsman Remulla ay maaasahan po para sa katotohanan at dedicated po sila sa kanilang trabaho (The President was displeased, but he did not give any specific instructions because he knows that Secretary Jonvic and Ombudsman Remulla can be relied upon for the truth and that they are dedicated to their work)," Castro said.
The DILG chief recently revealed that a congressman and a contractor allegedly tried to bribe him and his brother with a total of P2 billion amid the investigation into the flood control mess.