By Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos
President Duterte is fulfilling his promise that heads will roll upon his return from the Holy Week break as he is set to fire an undersecretary of a department as early as this week.
Duterte, in a speech in a dinner concert in Pasay City Thursday, said that more government officials will bite the dust. “Marami pa. I’ll be firing about one undersecretary, one after the other. Ubusin ko talaga ‘yan,” Duterte said.
The President said his appointees were the first to go instead of those who were appointed by his predecessors. “And to think, in fairness also to President Aquino and to President Arroyo, so far, ang lahat nabigyan ko ‘yung tao, even the Cabinet member, the first to go mga tao ko,” Duterte said.
“As I have said, I’m not perfect. I cannot even compare my term with President Arroyo and I refuse to make comparisons with Aquino. He might have been more, more circumspect than I am,” he added.
Duterte had said before the Holy Week break that he is not anymore satisfied with the performance of some of his Cabinet members. He did not go into details but said in an event that that heads will roll once he returns to Manila after the Holy Week break.
Duterte on Thursday accepted the resignation of Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II. Aguirre was replaced by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday said that Duterte is not yet done with the Cabinet revamp and confirmed that another government official is on the chopping block.
“There is another one. But, let’s wait for the next week please. Too much information,” Roque said in an interview over CNN Philippines.
“Unfortunately, I work for a principal – the President, and I can’t announce unless he tells me to do so. The President mentioned, ‘Maybe we’ll announce it next week.’” he added.
“It’s a line agency. A department, it’s a department. I might be next in the chopping block. So, I’ll leave you at that.”
