(Eagle News) –President Rodrigo Duterte is set to fire commissioners of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque issued the erratum minutes after he announced the abolition of the body chaired by left-leaning Terry Ridon.
“With sincerest regrets I would like to correct the statement I made on the (PCUP) during this morning’s press briefing. It is to fire, and not to abolish the Commission,” Roque said.
According to Roque, there were two reasons behind the impending sacking of the commissioners, including the chair, working in the body.
For one, he said the commissioners were known to resort to “unnecessary junkets.”
He also noted that the commission, as a collegial body, has not met as a collegial body.
“This kind of work performance has no place in the Duterte administration,” he said.
In a statement, Ridon thanked Duterte for the “opportunity to serve the nation,” even as he insisted that they “performed (their) mandate to the best of their abilities, with integrity and competence, despite the heavy burden of undertaking genuine reform.”
“The public record of the agency can speak for itself: we had (sic) implemented with full integrity the presidential promise of no demolition without relocation,” he said.
He added they “had represented (sic) government and given voice to the urban poor in international conferences on public housing, poverty alleviation and climate change, which was unprecedented in any administration.”
Earlier in a speech, Duterte said he would “fire” an entire commission due to corruption.
PCUP was created by virtue of Executive Order No. 82 in December 1986.
The commission is in charge of formulating policies and programs aimed at addressing the needs of the poor.
