While President Rodrigo Duterte is known for dismissing officials in government even after just a "whiff" of corruption, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade is unlikely to suffer the same fate.

In a speech in Cagayan de Oro City on Friday, Duterte expressed his full trust with Tugade.

"The Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, I said he's bright. He’s a billionaire. Thus, those allegations that he's corrupt, I said, he does not have time for that. He does not even know how to count his money," he said.

Duterte noted that Tugade was one of the important pillars of a successful shipping company.

"No wonder that he bloomed into something like a big time businessman. He's really a billionaire," he said.

Several government officials, including at least two Cabinet members and even his close ally, were dismissed from their posts due to corruption allegations.

Just recently, Duterte said he fired an undersecretary of the Department of Budget and Management due to same accusation. Celerina Monte/DMS