Duterte sacks urban poor office commissioners due to “notorious” junkets abroad

December 12, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte has fired the 5-man Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, including chairperson Terry L. Ridon, due to their "notorious" junkets abroad.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte has asked him to identify the commission which he earlier announced that he would fire the officials.

"The president stated two grounds behind his decision...number one, according to him...they have not met as a collegial body. And number two, that the commissioners are notorious for junkets abroad," he said.

During the briefing, Roque announced that PCUP would be abolished. But later, he clarified that only the commissioners would be dismissed.

"It is to fire, and not to abolish the Commission," Roque said.

The four other PCUP commissioners were Melissa A. Aradanas, Joan A. Lagunda, Manuel L. Serra Jr., and Noe B. Indonto

In a speech at the 84th anniversary celebration of the Department of Labor and Employment on December 8 in Bulacan, Duterte said he would fire a commission due to alleged corruption, which has been pulling down the country.

"That's why even a whiff, there's a gossip that you received or you asked, I will call you. 'Don’t stay. You’re fired'," Duterte has said.

"(I) will fire about one commission. All of them. I don't care if they all participated or two or three, you have to go out. Because I do not think that it will exist without your knowledge and why until now," he added.

Roque said the firing of all the commissioners of PCUP showed that junkets abroad have no place in the Duterte administration.

"We reiterate we are serious about the drive against corruption in government," he said.

He denied that Ridon, a former partylist representative,  was removed because he was left-leaning.

"I doubt it because the two grounds mentioned to me by the President is that it’s a collegial body and they don’t appear to be working as a collegial body and junkets of the commissioners," he said.

Duterte has terminated the peace talks with the leftist rebels and declared them as terrorists due to the atrocities they continue to commit.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Ridon said PCUP, under his watch, performed its mandate to the "best" of its abilities, with integrity and competence, despite the heavy burden of undertaking genuine reform.

"The public record of the agency can speak for itself: we had implemented with full integrity the presidential promise of no demolition without relocation. We had represented government and given voice to the urban poor in international conferences on public housing, poverty alleviation and climate change, which was unprecedented in any administration," he said.

He also thanked Duterte for the opportunity given to them to serve the country.  Celerina Monte/DMS