Corruption is everywhere in government -Duterte

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his 4th State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 22, 2019. YANCY LIM/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

DAVAO CITY (July 25) —- President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday manifested dismay over the rampant graft and corruption in government.

During his 4th State of the Nation Address, Duterte said, “We are our own tormentors—addressing the Filipino people—we are our own demons; we are as rapacious predators preying on the helpless, the weak, and the voiceless.”

“We find corruption everywhere in government with every malefactor watching his cohort’s back in blatant disregard of his oath when he assumed public office,” Duterte stressed.

Corruption, he said, exasperates and frustrates. “It is also exasperating that there are times when I think that perhaps it is blood that we need to cleanse and rinse away the dirt and the muck that stick to the flesh like leeches.”

Members of Congress are free to investigate cases of corruption and if there is anything wrong in the executive department, legislators have a free hand to open an inquiry anytime, he noted. –PND