Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, November 22 fired Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) secretary-general Falconi Millar for alleged corruption in the rehabilitation of war-ravaged Marawi City.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the dismissal of Millar was done to implement the administration’s anti-corruption drive.
“There are no sacred cows in the administration, especially in its drive against corruption. As the president said, he will not tolerate even a whiff of corruption in the executive branch of government,” Panelo told reporters.
However, Millar denied being involved in the misconduct. He claimed that he resigned on Thursday morning and was not fired.
“It is an obvious demolition job. In protecting the interest of the government, I have annoyed some personalities,” Millar said.
The lawyer/certified public accountant (CPA) was dubbed by Duterte as someone who was corrupted by power. The president announced during the inauguration of the Cavite Gateway Terminal in Tanza, Cavite that he signed the dismissal of Millar before the event.
“I don’t know, somehow along the way corruption seeps in and it’s hard. When you are there, sec-gen (secretary general), you have the power, authority. Power corrupts and sometimes you want your money to go to your pocket almost every day,” Duterte said.
As the head of the secretariat of Task Force “Bangon Marawi,” Millar came under fire due to the delays in the groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment of Marawi’s “ground zero.”
Duterte said that he is determined to rid the government of corrupt and abusive officials. Since June 2016, the tough-talking leader has dismissed a number of cabinet officials due to their involvement in several controversies.
The list includes former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief Ismael Sueno; National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Peter Lavina; Social Security System (SSS) commissioner Jose Gabriel “Pompee” Lavina; Maritime Industry Authority (MIA) Administrator Marcial Quirico Amaro III and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chief Patricia Licuanan.
Malacañang also revealed the dismissal of military-affiliated V. Luna Hospital officials. The president fired the hospital’s chief Brig. Gen. Edwin Torrelavega and its head of the logistics office Col. Antonio Punzalan for allegedly undertaking anomalous purchases of equipment and engaging in fraudulent transactions worth P1,491,570.
Duterte also dismissed the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Comptroller Hector Marana for alleged malversation of P15-million worth of allowances for cadets.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Dominador Say and Department of Tourism (DOT) chief Wanda Tulfo-Teo resigned amid corruption allegations earlier this year.
