VIOLATION OF DUTERTE ORDER Assistant Transportation Secretary Mark Tolentino (left)
gets the ax for violating President Duterte’s order not to talk to any of his relatives.
For violating President Rodrigo Duterte’s order against talking with his relatives on state contracts or appointments, the career of Assistant Transportation Secretary Mark Tolentino in government has been derailed.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Monday that the President had “terminated the services” of Tolentino, who accused officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) last week of delaying the Mindanao Railway Project.
Tolentino was the President’s schoolmate and is a Lex Talionis fraternity brother.
At a news briefing, Roque also said he would announce on Tuesday the resignation of another government official.
Roque said he did not know the President’s sister whom Tolentino talked with, but the fired official identified her as Jocelyn Duterte.
“The termination of Tolentino serves as an example that if the President said do not talk with his relatives or friends, you should not talk to them,” Roque said.
The spokesman added that it seemed that Tolentino had used the Duterte family in justifying the Mindanao Railway Project.
Misunderstood
After his unceremonious firing, Tolentino insisted that he was misunderstood.
“I wasn’t name-dropping the first family to push for an agenda. I just sought their advice on something which I think is within the interest of Mindanao,” he said.
Even so, Tolentino said he “respect[ed]” the decision of the President, who appointed him to the post in December 2017.
In the press briefing on May 18, Tolentino gave updates on the railroad project in which he ended up accusing certain DOTr officials of deliberately delaying it by pushing for a loan from China to fund the first phase.
Financing
Initially, Phase 1 of the project, which aims to lay down 1,500 kilometers of rail connecting key cities in Mindanao, was supposed to be financed through the national budget.
Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy James Batan admitted the DOTr was considering contracting a loan from China so it would be easier to tap additional loans for the financing of succeeding phases of the project.
The DOTr shot down Tolentino’s allegations and accused the assistant secretary of arrogance when he claimed he was “only accountable to the President” and that he had the “blessing” of members of the first family.
In an interview, Tolentino said he did not talk to Jocelyn Duterte to seek her favor or to lobby for anything regarding the project, but merely to discuss its progress.
He said he used to serve as legal counsel for the President’s sister.
On schedule
In a statement released on Monday, the DOTr sought to ease fears about delays in the Mindanao Railway Project.
“The Mindanao Railway, a priority project under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program of the Duterte administration, is on track and on schedule,” the statement said.
It added that the first phase of the railroad, which will connect three key cities in the Davao region (Tagum, Davao and Digos), would be finished by 2021 “without delays and without corruption.”
Batan told reporters that the tension between Tolentino and other DOTr officials began last Wednesday, when the latter insisted that he hold a press conference on the project.
China-PH meeting
“I told him to postpone it first, because there are ongoing discussions not only among Philippine government agencies, but also government to government between China and the Philippines,” Batan said.
Batan said he thought this was clear to Tolentino, which was why he was surprised to learn the next day that the press conference was pushing through.
Batan also said Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua would be meeting with Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Monday about funding for the project.
“From the very beginning the plan has been to ask for assistance, especially for the future phases of the Mindanao Railway,” Batan said.
He said it was the DOTr’s Chinese partners that had expressed interest in the railway project. —WITH A REPORT FROM MATTHEW REYSIO-CRUZ