92 gov’t officials, employees fired for graft

Malacañang on Sunday gave assurance that day-to-day operations would not be disrupted following the firing of 92 government officials and employees in its anticorruption drive.

“We assure our people that in cases where heads have been suspended or terminated, day-to-day government operations will remain unhampered because the duties can be performed by the assistant heads who may be designated as officers in charge while the chiefs or heads of office are temporarily absent,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

“The President’s remark that he fired 92 government officials this month underscores that there are no sacred cows in the Duterte administration,” Abella said.

Abella said there was no breakdown available on the concerned government officials but he noted they came from “different agencies of the government, mostly regulatory bodies, where there was an interface between the public and private sectors.”

“Firing of government officials involved in corrupt practices does not come in batches.  Any whiff of corruption, particularly [from] those who serve at the pleasure of the President, means suspension or termination of service in government,” he said. —CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO