Shame on you: Rody fires more execs; labor usec out

DAVAO CITY – True to his promise of ridding government of corruption, President Duterte has fired a new set of officials over allegations of graft.

“You know, I’m very sad to inform you that as of last week I fired another set of officials,” the President said during the mass oath-taking of newly appointed officials at Malacañang yesterday afternoon.

The President did not name the officials but said they were among his longtime supporters.

This developed as Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say announced yesterday that he had resigned. Say said he submitted his letter of resignation to Duterte on April 9 to spare Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello from accusations of being soft on management in the contractualization

controversy.

In his letter, Say thanked Duterte for the opportunity to serve in government.

Last week, reliable sources said Say was next on Duterte’s chopping block following the departure of Vitaliano Aguirre II as justice secretary.

Duterte, describing the officials he had fired, said, “Eh nakakahiya (It’s shameful). But you know as supporters, early on, even during my mayorship days, they were already around and yet they f*** around. Alam ninyo ang ayaw kong manghiya (I don’t like to shame them).”

It was not clear if Say was among the officials Duterte was referring to.

The President has already fired more than a dozen highranking officials since he took office in June 2016, including former interior secretary Mike Sueno and former National Irrigation Administration chief Peter Laviña.

Yesterday, the President asked that media coverage of the oath taking be cut while he continued his talk with the newly appointed officials.

Duterte lamented that those who egged him to run for President were the ones who have been engaging in illegal activities after he appointed them to office.

“Sige na mayor, tumakbo ka na kasi wala na tayong ibang kandidato na (Please, mayor, run because we don’t have any other candidate) – to repair the nation, to rehabilitate everything and to stop corruption, blah blah blah and blah blah