By Earl Jed Roque/PNA
MANILA — Malacañang on Friday clarified that there is no “recycling” of corrupt government officials in the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said officials re-appointed to other government positions are not tainted with corruption.
“The officials who were either removed or resigned from their posts and appointed to other positions were not tainted with corruption during their stint in their offices. It just happened that their expertise and talents were not suited to their previous positions, hence, their re-appointment to their present offices that will showcase their competence,” Panelo said.
He was reacting to the statement of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales who claimed that there is “recycling” of dismissed officials and expressed disappointment over the acquittal of the accused in graft cases before the Sandiganbayan.
Panelo added that it is Duterte’s prerogative as President to appoint these officials.
“Those who have not been re-appointed were stained with corruption and they included long-time friends, allies, fraternity brods and relations. As we have stressed before, there are no sacred cows in this administration,” he said.
Panelo clarified that Carpio-Morales is not blaming the Duterte administration for the acquittal of officials tagged in graft and corruption cases.
“But contrary to the perception by some that she is blaming the dismissal of those cases to the current administration, she is not, and she said so herself when asked by this representation,” he said.
“We must all abide by the rule of law, courts decide on the basis of evidence and we must accept its verdict no matter how much we disagree with it. We cannot be ruled by our emotions, otherwise there will be chaos. We are certain that the present Ombudsman must have wised up to the legal debacles that his office lost and learned from the lessons presented to it,” he said.
Carpio-Morales, in a forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) on Thursday, said she was upset that “corrupt” officials are being “recycled.”
