(Eagle News)– President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday (November 21) told all Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) commissioners to resign after he received intelligence and internal reports on alleged corruption in the commission.
Duterte said he received reports on anomalies in the ERC including questionable appointments, the commission having too many consultants, and how its officials deal with contracts.
In a press conference in Lima, Peru, where he is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Duterte said that he will ask Congress to dissolve the ERC and order its reorganization.
“I am demanding that they all resign. Kasi nabasa ko iyong internal pati iyong sa intelligence, talagang binastos nila ang… I don’t know, just like in the past,” the President said in a press conference in Lima, Peru, where he attended the APEC Leaders’ Meeting.
Duterte said that he is asking only ERC officials to resign, not the rank-and-file members.
“Sinabi ko na sa inyo, sa kaliit-liit kong ito, I am just a small town, province boy, ayaw ko talaga iyang korapsyon,” he added.
“They must resign. I have options: file a case against them all or demand that no money will be appropriated. Ni-hearing pa iyan ngayon. Bigyan ko silang zero. They want to spare the humiliation of sitting there without their money? They resign and I will reorganize (the ERC)” he said.
“Mamili sila. I will ask Congress, I demand from Congress to disband…. or file a case simultaneously sa kanila when I get back. I think iyong source ko has a document na. Wala nang problema,” Duterte said.
He said government lawyers are now assessing the situation.
“Mabuti na malaman na nila bago ako mag-landing,” the President said. “Binastos nila.”
ERC Director Francisco Villa Jr., allegedly committed suicide on November 9 in his home in Paranaque City.
He wrote several “suicide notes” since August where he claimed there was pressure he could not take anymore. He earlier accused ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar of choosing a project “through a rigged selection system.”
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had already vowed to investigate Villa’s allegations of corruption.
