MANILA,
April 4 (PNA) -- The summary dismissal of Interior Secretary Ismail Sueno from
the Cabinet just shows that "President Rodrigo Duterte is very serious in
restoring public trust in government," a Malacañang official said Tuesday.
In
a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the dismissal
of one of the President’s close allies served as a warning that Duterte would
not countenance any questionable or legally untenable decisions by any member
of the Cabinet.
“But
I think, more than the details of the situation, I think we need to take into
more serious account the implication of this thing that it was done in a sense
publicly in front of all the Cabinet members. And also that the President has
allowed a public explanation of the matter,” the Palace official said.
He
said that Duterte has kept on repeating that one of the problems of the
Philippines is that the Filipinos have lost trust in the government.
“But
by addressing it so firmly and so with decisiveness, it just goes to show how
deeply invested the President is in nation building,” he said.
“The
Secretary (Sueno) had, in fact, been instrumental in convincing the President
to run for election, but this did not deter the President from pursuing his
drive for a trustworthy government by addressing issues like corruption,”
Abella said.
Earlier,
the Palace Spokesperson confirmed the dismissal of Sueno and said that the
Cabinet official was dismissed by Duterte due to “loss of trust and
confidence.”
He
said that the dismissal was announced toward the end of the 14th Cabinet
Meeting on Monday night.
Abella
said that Duterte talked with Sueno at the start of the meeting and asked some
questions regarding certain activities.
When
pressed on what really led to the dismissal, Abella said that “the President
has done due diligence and so he has checked into the matter and apparently he
has taken note of several legally untenable situations.”
He
also refused to bare the details, saying only that “Duterte has apparently some
insight into the situation.”
Sueno
is the second major Cabinet official to be dismissed due to allegations of
corruption.
Just
last month, Peter Tiu Laviña, who served as Duterte’s campaign spokesman, was
sacked as head of the National Irrigation Administration.
In
the meantime, Abella said there was no replacement yet for Sueno, (PNA)
CIELITO
M. REGANIT
