Duterte eyeing to fire 64 Customs employees

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he is planning to dismiss 64 employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for corruption.

"If I can dismiss them, I will be dismissing something like 64 Customs employees," Duterte said during the signing ceremony for the Malolos-Clark railway project in Malacañang.

He also summoned the employees to the Palace in order to hear their side.

"In the meantime, that their case are being heard, in obedience of the rule to the right to be heard, I want them to be here in Malacañang. My view is that help me craft a new implementing rules of how not to rob a country properly," he said.

"It’s a simple case of you resign or I file charges. And that goes for all of us. We are workers of government and we serve the people, period."

Duterte later told reporters that he is relieving them of their duties "to prevent further damage to government interest."

The President said in his recent speeches that he would dismiss BOC officials even as the Palace assured BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero continued to enjoy the Duterte’s trust.

He is also looking at tapping soldiers to run the bureau. — MDM, GMA News