Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 12) — President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his struggle to rid the government of corrupt officials, saying he is firing multiple directors daily.
Speaking at the oath-taking ceremonies of new officers of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Thursday, Duterte said, “You know, I fire almost two, three directors every day. Or those who cannot be fired because they have the eligibilities and their career certificates, we assign here to Malacañang or to somewhere.”
He added, “Believe me, in every office dito sa bansa na ito [in this country] that has anything to do with an authority or discretion, that table, from table to another, there is corruption.”
Ending corruption in the country was part of Duterte’s presidential campaign, and he has talked about it consistently during his speeches. On Thursday, he was again frustrated at how slow it took to process papers because of corruption.
In a speech in October last year, Duterte said ridding the country of corruption would be fulfilling a lifelong dream.
In January, the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, which showed that corruption in government worsened in 2019.
Transparency International, a nonprofit watchdog monitoring the status of global corruption in the public sector, has issued the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2019, showing that the Philippines dropped 14 notches from 99th in year 2018.
In its current ranking, the Philippines obtained a score of 34, down by 2 points from 36 in 2018.
In response, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte’s hands were “tied by the due process clause of the Constitution.”
