Duterte prefers military men
MANILA: President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte explained why he preferred retired military men to serve with him in government, saying he was impressed with their honesty, perseverance and who follow orders as well as get their jobs done and fast.
“I have a special fondness for the military for being fundamentally honest and industriousness,” Duterte said in a mix of Filipino and English during his visit to a military camp in Jolo, Sulu on Tuesday afternoon.
Duterte flew to Sulu and skipped the “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Day of Valor) rites, a national holiday, where he was the annual principal guest to commemmorate the 77th anniversary of the brave stand taken by Filipino and American soldiers in the jungles of Bataan provincein Central Luzon against the Japanese forces during World War 11.
He admitted that since he took over Malacanang Palace in June 2016, he has met many failures in working with the bureaucracy especially in his campaign against pervasive corruption in government.
“I have met with several failures,” Duterte said,” in working with the bureaucracy. You can’t order them efficiently, it’s always corruption.”
But the president emphasized that he doesn’t have a hidden agenda in his preference particularly in appointing retired military men to work with him in government.
He pointed out that he need not kowtow to the military establishment for support since he was elected by an overwhelming majority of the millions of Filipino voters who elevated him to Malacanang Palace when he ran for president as the mayor for 20 years of his hometown in Davao City in Mindanao.
In this light, Duterte admitted that most of his Cabinet officials were former and retired senior military officers as he stressed: “I cannot do it alone. There are so many things to do and I thought of appointing them to my Cabinet.”
Among the most recent Duterte appointments to the Cabinet were Carlito Galvez, a retired chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Phililppines, as the presidential adviser on the peace process, as well as Rolando Bautista, a retired Philippine Army head as the secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.