Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has fired Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno, his spokesman said yesterday, as infighting and corruption allegations rock his government.
Sueno, who supervised Duterte’s war on drugs that has left thousands dead, was fired on the spot at a Cabinet meeting late on Monday, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
“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 added.
Photo: AFP
He did not say what the decisions were, but added that the sacking formed part of Duterte’s “drive for a trustworthy government by addressing issues like corruption.”
In a statement issued hours before his sacking on Monday, Sueno, 69, vigorously denied any involvement in corruption, blaming other Duterte followers for circulating such allegations against him.
“My advocacy against corruption has been strong. My belief is the same as President Duterte in fighting this, so this accusation against me is impossible,” said Sueno, a former provincial governor and city mayor.
Sueno said he was being bad-mouthed by three junior secretaries in his department, who were like him also appointed by Duterte.
Asked if Sueno might face further charges, Abella told reporters: “Let us wait for the president to take his subsequent actions.”
Sueno’s sacking comes a month after former Philippine secretary of foreign affairs Perfecto Yasay left his post following Congress’ ruling that he lied to them over his US citizenship.
Abella said the loss of another Cabinet member was not a sign of trouble, but proof that Duterte was serious about restoring trust in government.
He did not say who would replace Sueno, though there has been speculation Duterte would appoint former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos.
Marcos Jr lost the Philippine vice presidential election last year, but is contesting the outcome at an election tribunal.
In Congress, two other close Duterte allies, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Representative Antonio Floirendo, have been publicly feuding for weeks with Duterte trying to stay out of the quarrel.
Alvarez has accused Floirendo, a key contributor in the Duterte election campaign, of corruption, but Floirendo denies the charge.
Duterte won the election by a landslide in May last year, largely on his promise to launch a war on illegal drugs.
Although the campaign has proved popular at home, he has faced international criticism for thousands of killings that human rights advocates say were carried out as part of the initiative.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese