(Eagle News) — Dismissed Interior Secretary Mike Sueno on Thursday said he was retiring from politics for good, even as he reiterated he had done nothing wrong and that he was only “a willing victim” in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drive against corruption.
“Ayoko na. Out na talaga ako… Malaki kris ni misis ko. Baka mamaya gamitin niya. Promise ko sa kanya di na ako babalik sa pulitika,” Sueno said when asked if he had plans of running for governor in Mindanao again.
According to Sueno, he would just return to his farm and attend to it.
He said he was “also thankful” he was given the “time to rest.”
“Dami rin naging trabaho dito sa (Department of the Interior and Local Government) as secretary. Masaya rin ako na libre na ako ngayon, may chance na ako makatulog…Salamat din na napaalis din ako kasi di ko din pala kaya ito. Simple lang ako sa Mindanao na isang farmer na napunta sa highest seat of power…Somebody else knows how to live with this,” he said.
During what could be his last press conference inside the DILG building where he held office for months, Sueno reiterated that he had done nothing wrong.
Rosenbauer firetrucks
He said it wasn’t him who signed the Rosenbauer firetrucks contract–which was composed of two deals: the shipment of 76, which was done in 2013; and the shipment of 14, which is still in process.
“It was the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo who signed the first..in April 2013…It was then DILG Secretary Senen Sarmiento who signed the second delivery in April 2016,” he said, noting that “not a single centavo” has been paid for these yet.
He said the first batch would be paid for in 2021, or eight years from the date of delivery; and the second upon delivery.
According to Sueno, the “first and second supply contracts have the imprimatur of all concerned agencies”—the National Economic Development Authority board of which the President is chairman, the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Management, the Investment Coordination Committee, and the Office of the President, among others.
He said even the President “may have overlooked the fact that he issued a special authority to Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez dated July 15, 2016 confirming the Rosenbauer agreements.”
According to Sueno, the firetrucks did not undergo any bidding because the “Official Development Assistance is exempted from ordinary or local procurement laws.”
“Sabi sa akin di na ito mag-undergo ng bidding kasi government to government ito. Ito ang pinakaimportante. This is their reason why I was dismissed from office,” he said.
As for allegations he pushed through with the contract despite an opinion from the DILG legal office that it be deferred, Sueno said DILG Undersecretary Jesus Hinlo, who had sought such opinion, “did not give me a copy (of it).”
“So how will I know. How will I read the legal opinion kung wala ako natanggap. Di ako nagtanong. Siya nagtanong,” he said.
Even then, he said the legal opinion “even supported the legality and validity of the contracts with ODA.”
He said “it was even emphatic that the Supreme Court did not issue a (temporary restraining order) or any kind of writ against the DILG.”
Other allegations
Sueno also denied allegations he used government funds for his personal benefit.
He said although he had a house in Koronadal, this was “small” and was made only bigger by his daughter, who has a “very good” practice as a doctor.
He said it was a “big company” they dealt with in his farm business that offered to fund additional buildings for the farm.
The additional trucks they have for their family business, he said, were funded by his daughter who is into the trucking business.
He also denied owning a hotel, saying this was his brother’s who was “much much richer than I am.”
“Willing victim lang ako. Sa tingin ko walang due process. I was not given the chance to clarify with the President. Pasalamat nalang din ako na nawala ako dito,” he said.
