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President Rodrigo Duterte’s faithful critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV gave his two cents on the recent decision of the President to oust Dionisio Santiago as chairman of Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).
In a text message to GMA News Online, the Senator said that Santiago was kicked out from his position after being merely honest about his thoughts on the construction of mega drug rehabilitation center project of the Duterte administration.
“Gen. Santiago spoke the truth and he paid dearly for it. Apparently, Mr. Duterte has an aversion for the truth,” Trillanes said.
Earlier, Santiago revealed that Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea told him to quit his post as instructed by the President.
In an interview, Santiago said: “Sabi niya, ‘Mahirap ‘tong trabaho, I was told to tell you to go.’ Sabi ko, ‘No problem, don’t worry about me. Magkaibigan pa rin tayo.”
“I was hurt because I served the government for 44 years. Hindi ito ang way out na ine-expect ko,” Santiago added.
It could be recalled that Duterte’s instruction to oust Santiago came after the former DDB chairman said that the construction of 10,000-bed drug rehabilitation facility in Laur, Nueva Ecija is “impractical” and a “mistake”.
However, Senator Panfilo Lacson believes that more than Santiago’s criticism against the drug rehabilitation facility, there is a deeper reason other why the President came to a decision to let go of the chairman who is also his friend.
“I expect sooner or later, there will be an official statement from the Palace in regard to the instruction for him to resign,” Lacson said in a text message. [source: gmanews]
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