AN exasperated President Rodrigo Duterte hinted on firing a long list of officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways, adding that the agency breeds ghost projects in abundance.
He likewise urged officials in the agency headed by Secretary Mark Villar to resign, adding that most of the DPWH regional directors are involved in ghost projects, which he aptly described as the common practice in the department.
“Ang DPWH ang pinakaraket diyan is yung ghost projects. So walang delivery, ghost projects. It’s the regional director. Ipapalabas nila na may project ito but wala. So the best way is to conduct an audit of those projects to determine if they are ghost projects or not. And I think there are plenty,” Duterte said in his public address.
He also said that he is bent on firing a long list of DPWH officials.
“And I dare say na ang pinakamarami sigurong matanggal is from DPWH. I really intend to clean government. At least kung hindi ko kaya, ma-menos menosan ang kurakot sa gobyerno. Yan na lang ang konsuwelo ng tao na mahuli at mapreso,” a fuming mad Duterte added.
For the nth time, he also reminded the public that he wanted to rid the government of corrupt people.
“I would like to remind everybody sa DPWH who has had a participation there, being an investigator or connected in the construction, you better, you report to me,” he averred.
“Kayong may kasalanan diyan, sa mga ganoon, I advise you to resign now. Resign now kasi pagdating ng panahon, I will throw the book at you, even the kitchen sink, at saka makita ninyo, you will be prosecuted administratively, and even criminally, at walang patawaran dito. This is not the time for condonation,” Duterte quipped.
Relatedly, the President read a list of the first casualties of his war against corruption – mostly from the Bureau of Customs. He also hinted the same fate await several names from graft-tainted PhilHealth.