President Duterte to corrupt officials: “I will reach you”
President Rodrigo Duterte said during his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) that he wasn’t giving up on his promise of ridding government of corrupt officials.
On Monday, President Duterte said that he had a year left to go after corrupt government officials, vowing that he would catch them.
“I still have about a year to go. I will reach you,” President Duterte said.
President Duterte also said in his speech that his administration had dismissed about 200 government officials due to corruption.
The dismissed government officials include those involved in the “pastillas” bribery scam, under which Chinese nationals allegedly bribed immigration workers in order to enter the Philippines as tourists and later work for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) hubs.
However, President Duterte also said that corruption was “endemic” in the government.
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According to the President, if the next president wanted to get rid of corruption, they should “declare martial law” and remove and replace all government workers.
“Kung hindi mo gaganunin, walang mangyayari. Nandiyan [‘yong corruption], it’s in the system,” President Duterte said.
President Duterte’s statement came just weeks after taking offense to former ally Senator Manny Pacquiao’s remarks on supposed worse corruption under his administration.
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