Duterte postpones dismissal of appointee

Who was the presidential appointee supposed to have been sacked on the first working day of the year?

For now, everything remains a guessing game as Malacañang held off the announcement of the firing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

But for sure, the appointee does not come from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), whose officials are embroiled in controversy over the agency’s multimillion-peso Christmas party, Roque said.

Nor is the appointee on the chopping block a member of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), whose officials had been suspended by the Ombudsman, he added.

Roque, who was supposed to announce the firing on Wednesday, got a call asking him to defer it.

Legislative charter

President Rodrigo Duterte was still reviewing the legislative charter of the agency involved, the spokesperson said in a Palace press briefing.

The decision to fire the official could also be reversed, Roque said. “Unless the document is signed, anything can be changed,” he added.

Roque said the President was aware of the dispute between PCSO Director Sandra Cam and its general manager, Alexander Balutan, over the agency’s lavish Christmas party, but said that Mr. Duterte held both officials “in high esteem.”

Also facing controversy was the Maritime Industry Authority headed by Marcial Amaro III who, employees claimed, had gone on junkets using government funds.