No gov’t official sacred after Duterte fired DBM undersecretary: Abella

October 20, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte's firing of an executive of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that there is no sacred cow in the administration, Malacanang said on Friday.

Duterte, in a speech on Thursday night in Manila, said he fired an undersecretary of DBM due to corruption.

"He was lucky because there were so many people. I wanted to slap him. I even stood up to --- I wanted to kick him on the face. I fired him for corruption," Duterte said without mentioning the name of the official.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters in a text message  it was DBM Undersecretary for Legal Gertrudo de Leon who was dismissed from service.

"The president’s action highlights that no government official is sacred under this administration," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a press briefing.

He said this should serve as a reminder to all public officers that "we are all here – not for ourselves – but for the greater good of the nation."

In the past, Duterte had dismissed several government officials, including secretaries, from their office due to alleged corruption. Celerina Monte/DMS