(Eagle News) — I trust him.
President Rodrigo Duterte said he continues to trust Cesar Montano amid allegations he committed “irregularities” as chief operating officer of the Tourism Promotions Board.
“I trust the guy. Kaya ko inappoint yan,” he said in a media briefing on Monday night.
He noted that Montano, who has made a name for himself in the showbiz industry, “did not need money.”
“I don’t think he would go for that,” Duterte said, in apparent reference to the “irregularities” Montano has been accused of committing only three months after he was appointed to head the body attached to the Department of Tourism.
The so-called irregularities were enumerated by several TPB employees in a letter to the Presidential Action Center last week.
In the letter, the employees questioned Montano’s entering into an P11.2-million contract with Carat Philippines that saw him and his nieces performing; his hiring of a team and consultants–including his own brother Rommel Montano—whose functions were reportedly already being exercised by existing employees; and his so-called approval of “millions of pesos” worth of proposals for entertainment “without considering the recommendation of the proper department under its purview.”
Duterte clarified, however, that if anyone thought “something (was) wrong (in the TPB),” he or she could file a case.
Plans to appoint?
When asked about his alleged plans to appoint whistle-blower Sandra Cam to a government post, Duterte said “What’s wrong with utang na loob?”
“Alangan namang mga Liberal (Party) ilagay ko dito. Kalokohan yan. di nalang ako magpresidente kung si (Mar) Roxas o kung sino,” he said.
Asked if he had plans of appointing Perfecto Yasay to another government post, he said, “As of this time, di pa kami nag-uusap.”
Yasay’s appointment at the helm of the Department of Foreign Affairs was recently rejected by the powerful Commission on Appointments after he allegedly lied to the congressional body about his citizenship.
Duterte later appointed Undersecretary for Policy Enrique Manalo as Acting Foreign Secretary.
The President added in the media briefing that he had not yet spoken to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano about the Foreign Affairs Secretary post.
“But you know, Senator Cayetano is a very brilliant man. He would be needed by the Senate… Dito pwede naman pwedeng acting,” he said.
