‘Whiff of corruption’ had Santiago sacked – Roque

A “whiff of corruption” is what may have caused President Duterte to ask Dionisio Santiago to resign his post as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday that Santiago was not sacked because of the complaint letter allegedly sent by a member of the DDB employees union (DDBEU) to the Office of the President.

Last Monday, Malacañang released a copy of the letter signed by a certain Priscilla Herrera, allegedly a member of the DDBEU. However, both Herrera and the employees union denied sending such a letter to President Duterte.

“Hindi po namin sinabi na katotohanan ang lahat ng sinabi ng complaint. Ang punto ko po, and I think ang word na ginamit natin was ‘even a whiff of corruption’ is enough for the President to be at least suspicious for the conduct of his closest allies,” Roque said.

When asked if the Palace verified the authenticity of the letter first before they released it to the media, Roque said: “It’s been overtaken by events because the resignation came about.”

“But I emphasize, we have never alleged that they are gospel truth, they are allegations, which I’m sure, he can easily dispute,” Roque said in reference to the complaint letter.

The Palace spokesman argued that even if the letter is anonymous, “the President would still consider it and would still take steps to verify the truth of allegations.”

“I’m sorry if there’s been any misunderstanding but I’ve reviewed the transcripts, I was very clear – if there are allegations in a complaint, we did not say they are the truth and that is why I understand, General Santiago was somehow hurt,” he said.