Rody to open hotline; ‘just don’t lie to me’

FIRST NIGHT IN POWER President Duterte and Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo (left) hand out rice packs to Tondo residents late Thursday. RICHARD A. REYES

DIAL 8888.

That’s the number that can give you a direct line to the office of President Duterte, who on Thursday night announced the setup of a grievance hotline hours after he formally assumed power.

Duterte addressed some 500 residents of Isla Puting Bato, a slum area in Tondo, Manila, making them the first audience the President faced after his oath-taking ceremonies in Malacanang earlier that day.

He said he would ask Smart and Globe for a four-digit number that would directly lead complainants to the Palace.

“If you have any complaint, if you were abused, taken advantage of, if there is something in government you didn’t like, call,” Duterte told the gathering at Delpan Sports Complex.

He said the hotline would be accessible “day and night” and promised to act on the complaints—or at least those he would consider “important”—by immediately calling the concerned barangay officials and the police.

“This is all I ask from those who will complain. You call me, don’t lie anymore. Just tell me the truth, don’t make up stories,” he said. “There are many ways I can help.”