(Eagle New) – Saying he is tired and exasperated, President Rodrigo Duterte said he is now ready to resign realizing that he cannot finish the war on corruption and drugs within his term as what he had promised to the people.
“I do not think that I can fulfill my promise to the people. I said I was the first one to finish because I used the bullet style. Having been a prosecutor in court, time is always of the essence and the substance of what you say. I said I will try to stop corruption which I’m doing. And still I cannot succeed even beyond my term,” said the 73-year old Philippine leader, feeling tired and sad after learning of the latest corruption at two military hospitals.
In a speech on Tuesday, August 14 during the launching of the Go Negosyo’s “Pilipinas Angat Lahat” program in Malacanang, Duterte said he is already “exasperated” with the corruption problem after news about the involvement of top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in high level corruption in the medical and hospital services that had angered him so much.
“Ngayon ho, so habol ako nang habol pagod na ako. I’m exasperated and I said corruption, then I said I will meet the challenge sa drugs which I did and what I’m doing still now. And I said that the law and order situation is very hard but I will try,” he said.
“I do not think that with the limited three years remaining in my term I could even hardly make a dent. I cannot kill them all because the sacred human rights is there,” he noted.
The President even challenged businessmen and the military to find a replacement for him after saying that he has to admit to the people that he has “failed.”
“I cannot do it and so I have to admit to the people that I failed. So look for another one. And I’d be happy to go home. And you guys, you are the pressure in our society. You are you pressure groups that — to formulate a public policy. Nandiyan sa inyo ‘yan. The money is with you. You can go ahead,” he told various business leaders in attendance.
“You can suggest to them but I am ready. And for those who are dreaming that I will extend my term and be a dictator, you must be the lowest idiot in this country.”
-“Embedded” graft and corruption noted-
Duterte, who had served as mayor of Davao City for 23 years and was a prosecutor before that, said that he had tried his best to beat the drug problem and the corruption but realized that it was too “embedded” in the system.
“So graft is so embedded, it is endemic and it is always a part of the territory of a transaction, especially by government,” he said.
“I told you that I will go after drugs and I warned everybody because on what used to be millions of transactions worth, it’s now billions. And even the government agencies are already quarreling amongst themselves because they want really to do something about it. And for that, I do not intervene. I let them quarrel publicly. And then I just say, ‘Do your job. Better luck next time.’,” he explained.
-Disappointed with corruption at AFP –
The President expressed his extreme disappointment that there were some AFP officials who took funds he had allocated for the medical and health services of the wounded soldiers.
This was after he gave P50 million a month for the V. Luna Hospital and another P50 million a month to another army hospital which he gave to the AFP. He even gave money for the construction of a new hospital building for the AFP. It was no less that AFP chief General Carlito Galvez who told him about the corruption.
“What is really very stupid about this whole thing is, I gave V. Luna, the AFP — it’s V. Luna Hospital — 50 million (pesos) a month also. And the other hospital, another 50 (million pesos). There are two hospitals there. The AFP and I forgot the other one. That’s the V. Luna. And I gave them a new building because it was being used and the drainage was blowing upwards,” Duterte said.
“And I said to them, ‘How can you cure the infections of the wounds of my soldiers if that…?’ So I said, ‘Condemn that building, I’ll build you a new one.’ I gave them the money because (Budget) Secretary (Benjamin) Diokno was there and he said, ‘okay,’ early on. So titingnan ko rin ito before I go, I will create a big bang also. I want it audited. Kasi ‘yung pera na ibinigay ko was misappropriated,” he said.
‘Galvez showed to me the report and he was scratching his head, he said, ‘Mayor, sorry but this is what happened.’ I said, ‘You court martial him. Create a court where he will appear before his peers and give him the most humiliating (experience)’,” he said.
“I fired them all. I still have to select a new one. So one corruption, just right after there’s another corruption and the folder it’s here. Just came in yesterday. And you won’t believe it, it’s the military,” he revealed.
-Command conference with the AFP-
The President said he’d like to tell the business leaders about his “personal heartaches” in his efforts to fulfill his campaign promise to stop graft and corruption in a system where it is so ingrained.
“Now, I’d like to talk also about my personal heartaches and all. Nandito pa naman si President Arroyo. I do not want to cheapen the presidency kasi nakakahiya eh. But you know, ma’am, about two weeks ago, I had a command conference for all of the united groups of — ‘yung ano, the Armed Forces pati pulis mismo, all of them, down to the last commander. Nandito po kami sa Malacañan,” he said.
“At ang sinabi ko sa mga sundalo at pulis, ‘Guys, I want you to know that I am thinking of stepping down because I’m tired. While I am not against or angry against anybody, my chase against graft and corruption seems to be endless and it has contaminated almost all government departments and offices.'”
-No to Robredo as successor-
The President said if he only believed that Vice-President Leni Robredo can do a good job as the next President, he would turn over the post to her in accordance with the Constitution.
But Duterte noted that Robredo does not have the competence to be the country’s president.
“I am hesitant to suggest a Constitutional succession. I have nothing against Robredo. She’s a lawyer. You have heard her talk. But I do not think she can improve on anything here. Of course, she will deny it,” he said.
The President even said that Naga City was even a “hotbed of shabu.”
“But you can ask the hotbed of shabu in the past years. I would not mention the name kasi — it was Naga City. It was in Naga City,” he said.
“I am a lawyer and I said, were it not for the fact that I do not believe in the competence of the Vice President, I’m ready to go anytime,” the President said.
Duterte said the AFP and the Philippine National Police can go to him anytime if the two organizations feel that he is not fit to be the President anymore.
“I am ready to go down. If the Armed Forces… Bakit ang Armed Forces? Bakit ang pulis? They are the two organizations who can control when everything breaks loose. They must maintain order, that’s their job. What they want to do after that, well I said, I leave it up to them,” he said in his speech.
“Now, the resignation. I said… I told the guys, the military — the Armed Forces, all of them, and the police, generals. ‘If you guys, I only need to talk. Do not give me that melodrama of coming to Malacañan with tanks and everything… All you have to do is to call me, let’s have coffee and if you say, ‘President… Sir, we find you not at par or not in parity with the expectation.’ And then I say, ‘If you have found a leader, I’m willing to step down.’