MANILA – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday dared Senator Manny Pacquiao to name corrupt agencies and officials or else he will campaign against the country’s boxing superstar in the 2022 elections.
“So I’m challenging him, ituro mo opisina na corrupt at ako na bahala within one week, may gawin ako. Maglista ka Pacquiaoat sinasabi mo two times kaming corrupt, ilista mo yun mga tao at opisina na dapat inilista mo pa noon at ibigay mo sa akin (name the corrupt office and I will do something within one week. You make a list Pacquiao and you said we’re two times corrupt, list those people and offices that you should have listed before and give them to me),” Duterte said in his Talk to the People.
Duterte said Pacquiao should prove that he is not just politicking amid reports that the world boxing champion is gunning for the presidency in the 2022 elections.
“If you fail to do that, I will campaign against you, because you are not doing your duty. Do it, because if not, I will just tell the people, do not vote for Manny Pacquiao because he is a liar,” Duterte said.
He said the Department of Public Works and Highway “really had notoriety” for corruption before when he became president.
“Pero wala ako nakita ngayon na corrupt (I find no corrupt now),” he said. “Every administration will have a share the problem of corruption. Do not ever think that if you will win as president na wala nang corruption dito sa Pilipinas (that corruption will be eliminated in the Philippines.”
He called on everyone to join Pacquiao if they have also information about corrupt government offices and officials.
“Yan din ang payo ko sa mga Pilipino, kung may alam kayo magsabi kayo (That is also my advice to the Filipino, if you have information, let me know), and I will be transparent, I will investigate them,” he said.
Duterte said many government officials and employees have been charged before the Office of the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan due to corruption.
He said at least 73 immigration personnel have been removed due to his government’s campaign against corruption.
“Gaya ng sa Customs, masakit sa akin dahil meron 37 years in the service pero (Like in the Customs, it’s painful to me because there is someone who are 37 years in the service already but) the temptation to go to graft, is very strong,” Duterte said.
Duterte promised to fight corruption as well as illegal drugs and criminality when he ran and won by 6 million votes in the 2016 presidential election.
In the 2022 elections, many have been persuading the country’s first leader from Mindanao to run for vice president which he said “would be dependent” on the presidential candidate he will support.
“It [running for vice president] is not at all a bad idea and if there is a space for me there, siguro, pero ako walang (maybe, but I have no) space, everybody is crowding up wanting to be vice president, sila na lang muna kasi tapos na ako (I’ll leave it to them because I’m done),” he said. (PNA)
MANILA – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Saturday said he will again join the private media when President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from office in June 2022.
In an interview with dyLA, Andanar said he did not seek any elective post because his commitment is to promote Duterte’s legacies until the end of the Chief Executive’s term.
Andanar, who was included in the initial Senate slate of the ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, said he had assured Duterte that his office would keep informing the public about his administration’s accomplishments.
“I entered this job as a technocrat, meaning an expert in media that will fix the government media. And that’s what I did. And we will exit again as a technocrat,” he said.
The Duterte Legacy campaign, Andanar said, aims to make the Filipino people aware of the government’s accomplishments, as well as its services through the collective efforts of different agencies and instrumentalities.
“This is a campaign to report all of the achievements of President Duterte for his entire term,” Andanar said.
After Duterte’s term, Andanar expressed confidence that he will return as a “wiser” private media personality because of his experience and knowledge in initiating reforms in the state media.
“Yes, babalik ako sa media (I will return to the [private] media) armed with vigor and wiser, more knowledge, experience sa pag-reform sa (in reforming the) government and with the advocacy of sustainable communication. What is sustainable communication? It’s about being able to communicate and assist all the sustainable projects and activities of the community, the country and even the world,” he said.
Andanar was appointed by Duterte as PCOO chief in 2016. Prior to his appointment, he served as a television news anchor, radio commentator, podcaster, video and audio blogger, and voice-over artist.
Andanar also headed the News5 Everywhere, the online news video and audio portal of TV5. (PNA)