Tugade should be kicked out

Now, it can be told: I was the one who suggested to President Digong to take out my sister, Wanda Teo, as tourism secretary.

The President’s critics were knocking at his door, calling for Wanda’s head because of the P60-million advertising contract with PTV 4 that benefited our brother, Ben.

Although I believed then as now that she was clueless that Ben would benefit from the advertising contract between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and PTV 4, Wanda had become a burden to the Duterte administration.

If you don’t believe that I asked for my sister’s ouster as DOT chief, you may ask Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, Executive Secretary Bingbong Medialdea and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

I’m saying this so people would know that I have the moral authority to bash administration officials who, to my view, are either corrupt or incompetent.

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I would like to start with Transportation Secretary Art Tugade who, I think, is incompetent and, therefore, should be given the boot.

Tugade is one of the most trusted in the President’s Cabinet as he is a fellow San Beda College of Law graduate. In fact, Art topped his law class, which was a year ahead of Digong’s.

Art Tugade is one of the nonperforming Cabinet members.

His latest booboo was the crisis at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) when a Xiamen Airlines jetliner skidded off the runway upon landing and stuck in mud, stranding  hundreds of thousands of outgoing passengers.

The transportation secretary was never seen near the airport during the crisis.

He left everything to his subordinate, Naia general manager Ed Monreal, another nincompoop, to solve the crisis.

Tugade, during a Senate hearing, said he didn’t go to the airport because he might cause the disruption of the work of the crisis committee.

Wow, what a lamebrained excuse!

A leader always takes a direct hand during a crisis, or at least, makes his presence felt to his subordinates.

The President always visited the troops during the Marawi siege.

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Last July, the Commission on Audit (COA) released a report that 153 out of 159 projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in 2017 were either delayed or not implemented.

In August, COA released its findings that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), which is under DOTr, was unable to carry out 15 of its 16 projects in 2017.

Tugade is borrowing P17 billion from Japan International Cooperation Agency for the rehabilitation of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, when Sumitomo is volunteering to rehabilitate MRT 3 for only P7.5 billion.

Sumitomo was the company that maintained  MRT 3 until then Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, for reasons only he knew, terminated its contract.