Duterte officials who have resigned, were fired over corruption issues

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that resignation does not save corrupt officials from being held accountable, but that was not always the case at least for 11 of his administration’s officials who have faced allegations of corruption and then left government.

Based on data from GMA News Research, at least 11 high profile officials resigned amid a corruption controversy while around nine were fired.

Those who resigned from their posts were:

• Former Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles of the Bureau of Immigration (resigned after P50 million Immigration bureau bribery scandal)
• Former Bureau of Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon (resigned over multiple corruption allegations, including those involving drug shipment; later named Deputy Administrator of Office of Civil Defense)
• Ex-National Irrigation Authority Administration Peter Laviña (resigned amid allegations he solicits money from contractors)
• Ex-Secretary Rodolfo Salalima of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (resigned after the President accused him of favoring his previous employer)
• Former Commission on Higher Education Chair Patricia Licuanan (accused of going on foreign trips without the President's approval)
• Ex-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II (resigned over dismissal of cases involving drug lords, admission of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles into witness protection program)
• Ex-Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo (resigned after state auditors flagged a P60 million DOT advertisement on her brother Ben Tulfo’s show)
• Former Tourism Promotions Board chief Cesar Montano (resigned after probe into alleged questionable P320-million Buhay Carinderia culinary tourism project)
• Ex-Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña (transferred as Director General of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority amid allegations of corruption)
• Former Philippine Health Insurance Corporation President Ricardo Morales (resigned after allegations that PhilHealth officials pocketed P15 billion out of the Internal Reimbursement Mechanism)

Those who were fired due to corruption allegations were:

• Former Secretary Ismael Sueño of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) (fired in April 2017 over alleged abuse of authority over the purchase of Australian-made fire trucks)
• Former Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Anna Paner (fired for hiring consultants each receiving a monthly salary worth P200,000)
• Ex-Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chief Jose Salazar (fired after he allegedly tried to influence an ERC procurement process in favor of a supplier)
• Former chairperson Terry Ridon of the Philippine Commission for the Urban Poor (fired for alleged numerous trips abroad)
• Ex-Marina Administrator Marcial Amaro III (fired for alleged numerous trips abroad)
• Former Assistant Secretary Mark Tolentino of Department of Transportation (fired over alleged dealings with the President’s sister in connection with the Mindanao Railway Project)
• Government Corporate Counsel Rudolf Philip Jurado (fired over alleged issuance of legal opinion justifying 75-year gaming franchise to a freeport locator in Aurora)
• Ex-PhilHealth President Ma. Jude Celestina dela Serna (fired over alleged excessive travels, fund mismanagement)

The President has also formed what the Palace said was a mega task force led by the Justice department to probe corruption in the entire government.

But even without the existence of the mega task force, the Office of the Ombudsman already has the power to "investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public officer or employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient" based on the Ombudsman law.

Likewise, the Office of the Ombudsman also "has primary jurisdiction over cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan and, in the exercise of his primary jurisdiction, it may take over, at any stage, from any investigatory agency of Government, the investigation of such cases." —LDF/KG, GMA News