Nothing new about Duterte’s offer to resign over government corruption —Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte’s offer on Monday to resign over alleged rampant corruption in government was just a reiteration of his previous pronouncements, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Duterte told the nation on Monday evening that he wanted to leave the presidency due to frustration over corruption even as he expressed willingness to appear before Congress to discuss “almost radical” ways to address the problem. 

“Well, dati na po niyang nasabi iyan. Ang sinasabi, sa katagal-tagal niya sa gobyerno, palagi niyang binibigyan ng prayoridad ang laban sa korapsiyon pero parang walang nangyayari,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview on GMA’s Unang Hirit.

Roque said the President’s latest statement had something to do with his desire to cut red tape in the bureaucracy. 

“Kinakailangan iyong mga nagbibigay ng mga permit na wala namang dapat discretion, iyong permits para sa telco, mga permit para sa rehistro – hindi iyan dapat pinatatagal. Dahil kapag iyan ay pinapatagal, isa lang ang ibig sabihin, humihingi po ng tongpats,” the Palace official said. 

“Kaya nga po sabi niya, ay naku, binibigyan ko na kayo ng kaunting leeway pero kinakailangan matigil na iyan.”

In August 2018, Duterte informed military and police officials of his plan to quit the presidency as his “chase against graft and corruption seems to be endless.” 

Duterte reiterated this in a speech in October 2018, adding that none of the major service commanders, and not even Philippine National Police commanders, had agreed to his offer.

The President thus took the results of the meeting to mean that he needed to keep working on ridding the government of corruption. He had also said a dissatisfied military and police could seize power without staging a coup. 

Duterte came to power in mid-2016 on a campaign promise to rid the country of illegal drugs, crime, and corruption. His six-year term ends on June 30, 2022. —KG, GMA News