Duterte fires government corporate counsel Jurado

President Rodrigo Duterte has fired the government corporate counsel for allegedly granting gambling franchise to the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport (Apeco).

“You are fired, I do not need you and maybe you do not need me,” Duterte spoke about Government Corporate Counsel Rudolf Philip Jurado in a speech during the ceremonial signing of two laws in Malacañang on Monday.

“There are thousands of lawyers waiting there for an appropriate opportunity to work in government. All I have to do is to look around,” Duterte added.

Duterte said he fired Jurado for allegedly granting Apeco a franchise, which is solely done by government regulator Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

“May I call the government corporate counsel are you in this, andito ka (are you here)? Kasi kung andito ka lumabas ka p********. You are fired, I do not need you and maybe you do not need me,” Duterte said.

“Kung ‘di ka ba naman gago (What a fool.) So you are just like a Pagcor operating an independent entity with the same powers you grant anything. Kung di ba naman tarantado (What a fool),” the President said.

However, according to previous reports, Jurado said he did not grant a gambling franchise to Apeco, but signed a legal opinion allowing the authority to operate outside its jurisdiction as long as it is within Philippine Economic Zone Authority territory./vvp