(Eagle News) — Two assistant secretaries have been ordered to resign over alleged corruption and abuse of power.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said asked to step down were Public Works Assistant Secretary Tingagun Ampaso Umpa and Justice Assistant Secretary Moslemen Macarambon Sr.
According to Roque, based on an investigation, Macarambon was “regularly intervening” on behalf of alleged smugglers.
A Department of Public Works and Highways investigation, he said, found Umpa, on the other hand, “committed grave abuse of discretion and may have committed acts of corruption” when he, based on sworn statements, supposedly asked for a certain percentage from contracts awarded to contractors in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
He said President Rodrigo Duterte gave the order for the two to resign himself.
President Duterte has fired government officials over corruption allegations, among others.
He sacked then-Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno over an allegedly anomalous firetruck deal, has asked Peter Lavina to resign over alleged extortion, and has dismissed Marcial Amaro III as Maritime Industry Authority administrator for allegedly excessive travels, among some examples.