Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 16)— Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said a “benevolent dictatorship” type of leadership is needed for the Philippine government to crawl its way out of its numerous corruption issues.
“I cannot think of an outright solution except to have a benevolent dictator. Remove everyone with a whiff of corruption,” Sotto said in a statement.
“On the other hand, we can move for a moral regeneration of the entire bureaucracy,” he added.
A benevolent dictator refers to a leader given absolute political power— but utilizes it for the people’s benefit.
This comes amid a report that the country has been losing roughly ₱700 billion, or 20 percent of the government’s annual budget, due to corruption.
Deputy Ombudsman Cyril Ramos on Thursday said that the country placed sixth in the most corrupt countries in Asia.
President Rodrigo Duterte, before being elected in 2016, promised to end the illegal drug trade and corruption in the country in three to six months.
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In the past months, the President had ordered a reshuffling of officials in numerous government agencies, including the Customs Bureau and the state health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, due to allegations of corruption.
Two Cabinet secretaries, who have yet to be named, have also been under probe for the same issue, according to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.
