Duterte to MWSS execs: I will not hesitate to replace you all

President Rodrigo Duterte (File photo by ARMAN BAYLON / Presidential Photographers Division)

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not hesitate to replace all officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) following the water shortage in Metro Manila and nearby areas.

Duterte also slammed the agency for failing to prepare for the El Niño.

“This week I will be firing… Alam mo ‘yang MWSS. Alam mo, seasonal ‘yan eh. It comes with regularity ‘yang El Niño na ‘yan. P***** i**, ilang taon kayo nandiyan and you do not prepare for it?” he said in his speech during the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Tuguegarao City on Tuesday night.

He again hit MWSS for causing inconvenience to the public when Metro Manila grappled with a water shortage for weeks in March.

“Maraming Pilipino dito. Maraming engineer dito na galing sa labas na mas marunong. Hindi lang nakakilala. There are millions of Filipinos waiting outside, more brighter than you, more smart Kaya lang hindi nakilala kasi hindi mga politiko,” he said.

“I will not hesitate to replace you all,” he added.

Duterte earlier ordered MWSS to submit a report before April 10 on the water shortage and was supposed to decide on their fate last April 15.

The President has not made any categorical statement whether he would fire the officials. /cbb