Maybe she hasn’t tried it, Roque says of De Lima’s call to probe 8888 hotline

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque (Photo by JOAN BONDOC / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque brushed aside on Monday the resolution of Sen. Leila de Lima asking for a probe of the implementation of the government’s 8888 corruption complaint hotline.

“Maybe because she hasn’t tried it because she shouldn’t have a telephone in her detention facility,” Roque told reporters when asked about his comment on De Lima’s move.

Last Nov. 28, De Lima filed Senate Resolution No. 550 calling for an investigation into the implementation of 8888 complaint hotline “to ensure how it has become effective and accessible to ordinary citizens in need.”

“Every peso of Filipino taxpayers’ money must be spent on programs and government services that actually work and are responsive to their needs, and not on programs launched merely to cosmetically or superficially fulfill campaign promises,” the senator said in a statement on Monday.

When pressed for more comments on this, Roque said: “Ano pa ba naman ang gusto niyo pa, ’no? Nakita niyo naman na walang tigil ang pagsisibak ni Presidente sa mga taong-gobyerno na may alegasyon ng korapsyon.”

[What more do you want? You’ve seen how the President has been constantly giving people the ax once there are allegations of corruption are raised against them.]

The spokesperson also assured the public that the President is “sincere in his crusade to fight corruption.”

“Hindi po matitigil ’yang paninibak na ’yan. Ang mensahe nga namin sa lahat ng taong-gobyerno: Mag-pribadong sektor na lang po kayo kung gusto niyong yumaman,” Roque added.

[Those dismissals won’t stop. In fact, our message to all people in government: Just move to the private sector if you want to get rich.]

In 2016, Duterte signed Executive Order No. 6 “to institutionalize a public complaints hotline involving all agencies of the government, and build on existing public feedback mechanisms for the realization of the government’s policy to eradicate red tape and corruption.” /atm