However, it can be recalled that one of these ex-military appointees — former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon — was accused of corruption by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee after a P6.4 billion shabu shipment slipped under his watch in 2017.
He stepped down from his post but Duterte later moved him to head the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). However, his stint at the BuCor was also marred with corruption allegations due to the questionable implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law.
The President sacked Faeldon earlier this year for disobeying his order to halt the release of inmates under the GCTA law. Duterte said he may no longer reassign Faeldon to another government post but maintained that he still believes in him.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) — President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he believes his former elections running mate, House Speaker Alan Cayetano, is innocent of corruption in the organization of the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. But he conceded that the military could have done a better job.
The President defended Cayetano, who chairs Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) despite a slew of criticism against the private foundation for multiple blunders ahead of the games’ official opening.
“I am sure Cayetano is not involved in corruption,” Duterte told reporters in Malacañang.
The trusted military
However, the President is still disgruntled over the mistakes which led to the inconvenience of visiting athletes.
To avoid such lapses in the future, Duterte suggested that the military should take over preparations instead.
This comes after Duterte said he wanted a probe into corruption allegations against the organizers of the event. He said he will assign some retired auditors from the Commission on Audit and some lawyers who were his fraternity brothers to conduct the investigation.
He argued that the blunders, such as allegedly failing to welcome the visitors at the airport, could have been lessened had the planning of the SEA Games been left to the “structural thinking” of the military.
“Itong mga ganito [These events] should be handled by military men. They are better organizers because the entire armed forces is one big organization and they are trained to be structural in thinking,” Duterte said.
“‘’Yung mga bagay na hindi mo makuha, ‘yan mahahagip ng military ‘yan, eventualities ‘yung mga ganoon [The military could have spotted those eventualities ahead]…Had I known I would have insisted. I will insist na [the] military to handle it, the planners of the military not the soldiers or infantry ” the President said.
He clarified that this does not mean he does not trust Cayetano but that he only wants to trace where the missteps came from.
He added that he is convinced these uniformed personnel were not capable of corrupt activities.
Duterte has often displayed his trust in the military throughout his term. Previously, he turned over the reigns of several government agencies such as the Social Welfare department, Interior department and Environment department, among others to retired military officials. In April, he even warned about a possible “military takeover” of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to iron out its operations, after it was dubbed as one of the worst airports in the world.
“I don’t know if it is outright lack of foresight…I am not investigating Cayetano. I am just trying to find out because the money must not have been properly disbursed” he said. “I know Cayetano could not have handled everything.”
Duterte also defended the heads of the other organizing committees — Philippine Olympic Committee chief Bambol Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and SEA Games Chef de Mission Butch Ramirez. Duterte said he has known Ramirez for a long time since his stint as Davao City mayor.
“Itong mga military hindi masyadong ano sa corruption. ‘Pag sinabi mo magtrabaho ka at gawin mo ’yan…and the thing is fixed,” the President said.
[Translation: These military they are not that into corruption. If you tell them to work and to do something…and the thing is fixed.]
“I do not think [there is] corruption kasi ang mga head niyan [the heads], puro taga-gobyerno at [are from the government and are] men of integrity,” said Duterte.
Despite his trust in his men, Duterte wants an accounting of where the funds went.
“Well, to me personally, there was a lot of money poured into this activity now and I suppose that with that kind of money, you can run things smoothly. Apparently, siguro mga may palpak,” he said.
Duterte added, “So if there’s the money there, what happened to the money?”
