The Palace distanced itself on Friday, refusing to comment on the accountability of the consecutive axing of officials from their respective positions due to junkets.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to dismiss Marcial Amaro III from his post as Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) chief, in a televised press conference on Thursday.
Amaro is already the fourth official to lose his job over claims of having junkets.
While the former MARINA chief got fired, Roque was asked whether he and other sacked officials will be accountable for their alleged lavish foreign trips, however Malacañang chose to distance itself.
“That’s enough for now. Let [the] Ombudsman do its job,” he said in a text message to reporters on Friday.
Before Amaro, the Duterte’s administration’s growing list of sacked officials due to junkets include Terry Ridon of the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor; Elba Cruz, President of the Development Academy of the Philippines; and Dionisio Santiago of the Dangerous Drugs Board.
However, none of the ex-officials have yet to face any cases filed against them.
On Friday, Amaro who said that he had no knowledge of his dismissal until Roque’s press conference, defended that his 21 trips were all approved by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and that they were all beneficial and necessary as the head of an international organization, dealing with international affairs.
(Read: Axed MARINA head defends foreign trips)
The axed MARINA head admitted that six out of his 21 trips were sponsored by foreign countries while the remaining 15 were funded by the Philippine government. He said that he respects Duterte’s decision.
While the Palace received complaints from the Alliance of the Marina Employees (AME) regarding Amaro, he stressed that he met with AME’s directors on January 1, 2018, in which that claim was denied.