MANILA — Living up to his promise to rid the government of corruption, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday fired Government Corporate Counsel Rudolf Philip Jurado for allegedly favoring a gambling operator.
“May I call the government corporate counsel now. Are you here? Because if you are here, come out. You are fired,” Duterte said in his speech during the ceremonial signing of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 at Malacañang Palace.
“I don’t need you and maybe you do not need me. You know APEC has granted a franchise, Freeport and everything, and there’s always that accompanying provision about gambling,” he added.
Jurado has been accused of issuing a legal opinion that led to the approval of a 75-year permit to a casino operator inside the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APEC).
“I have been trying to be patient with everybody. But there are always that opportunity to interpret a law or insist in your stupid proposition until the problem gets out of hand,” Duterte said.
Duterte said the country has a long list of good lawyers who can replace Jurado at the Office of GCC.
“There are thousands of lawyers waiting to work in the government. All I have to do is look around,” he said. (PNA)
