Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday dismissed a senior member of his Cabinet, amid reports the official had engaged in corruption.

Ismael Sueno, 70, was dismissed as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, Press Secretary Ernesto Abella announced in a palace press briefing.

“The president had earlier asked a few questions of Mr Sueno but the summary dismissal served as a warning that Mr Duterte would not countenance any questionable or legally untenable decisions by any member of the Cabinet,” Abella said.

When Duterte officially assumed the presidency in the middle of last year, among his first appointees was Sueno, who served as mayor of Koronadal in South Cotabato in the mid-1980s.

Sueno had an unsuccessfully bid for the vice-presidency in 1998, under the Provincial Development Initiative Party of Emilio Osmena

Controversy

But in recent weeks he has been caught in a vortex of controversy involving personalities close to Duterte.

According reports, Interior undersecretaries John Castriciones, Jesus Hinlo, and Emilie Padilla had made an appeal to Duterte through a letter to dismiss Sueno after the Secretary was accused of taking protection money from illegal gambling syndicates

Sueno, in a statement issued on Monday, denied that he abused his authority as head of the Interior department, one of the most powerful agencies of the government.

According to Sueno, in his many years in public service, he has never used his position to enrich himself or pursue his personal interests.

“From then until now, my advocacy against corruption continues. The President and I believe in this. Accusations being hurled against me are impossible,” he said.

He said believed the letter initiated by his three undersecretaries was the result of a revamp.

“They were piqued because of their clipped powers under the new delegation of authority which was issued last week,” he said.

Resentful

According to him, his subordinates were resentful because he had to reassign some of the workload and projects to other undersecretaries.

The interior secretary said he would not cling to the position and, just like any other Cabinet official, served at the pleasure of the President.

“Whatever the president’s decision may be, I believe that it will be a wise one,” he said

According to Abella, Sueno had played an important role in the Duterte administration.

“The secretary had, in fact, been instrumental in convincing the President to run for election, but this did not deter the president from pursuing his drive for a trustworthy government by addressing issues like corruption,” he said

source : gulfnews