Nasaan ang utak ng mga gagong ito? Duterte asks Congress to abolish corruption-infested ERC by year’s end

Nasaan ang utak ng mga gagong ito? Duterte asks Congress to abolish corruption-infested ERC by year’s end As far as President Rodrigo Duterte was concerned, he has made ‎up his mind to abolish the Energy Regulator Commission (ERC) because he has lost all trust in it’s chief Joe Salazar and the rest of the board. In a speech in Malacanang, Duterte said he was not “comfortable” with Salazar and the rest of the ERC board – Commissioners Alfredo J. Non, Gloria Victoria C. Yap-Taruc, Josefina M. Asirit and Geronimo D. Sta. Ana -‎ after finding out for himself how they made a “milking cow” out of the ERC by hiring dozens of consultants and favoring “oligarchs” in setting power rates. “Alam mo I have been trying to look at the iyong opisina nila, ang gastos nila. Mas marami pa ‘yung consultants anak ng…Ubos ang pera ng gobyerno nito. Milking cow iyan. Karaming consultansts ninyo,” Duterte said on Monday during the inauguration of the Palm Concepcion Plant in Malacanang. “Saan pala ang utak nitong mga gagong ito? Bakit mo ba kailangan ng hundreds of consultants to…? Ubos ang pera natin nito,” he said. Duterte expressed displeasure over the anomalies at the agency, which caught media attention after ERC Director Francisco Villa. took his life earlier this month due to pressure to rig the biddings. Villa was head of ERC’s bid and awards committee and specifically named Salazar as the one putting pressure on him. “That was really one of my misgivings. Reviewing the ano but I was just keeping quiet until pumutok ‘yung may namatay. But meron na akong naririnig,” he said. Even before Villa’s suicide, Duterte has been looking at the ERC’s performance for the recent years, including their leanings towards the power producers and possibly, disregard for the consumers’ welfare. “So nakita ko ‘yung sordid record ninyo plus the questionable decisions in the past, I demanded for their resignations,” he said. “Eh ayaw nila, well and good. Then I will ask Congress to abolish the positions. Then I will just give it to the administrative body at first then maybe we can…,” he said. Salazar and the rest of the board have declared they would defy the President claiming they have a fixed term. Duterte said he does not want others to lose their jobs, but he was putting a premium on equality and fairness since many have seemingly abused their powers. ” I am not against providing whatever, employment or enough money for this guy to make the day. But ang problema ko diyan is there’s an abuse of authority in this power,” he said. “So if I don’t trust you anymore, I cannot. Tao ‘yang nakataya diyan eh. It is the bulk of the humankind. ‘Wag na masyado ‘yung mga mayayaman, kaya niya ‘yan,” Duterte added. “Problema ‘yung mahihirap tapos nandiyan ka, tapos corrupt ka. Eh magkakaproblema tayo,” he said.