MANILA - Malacanang is pleased by the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to order the dismissal of 45 personnel of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) linked to the "pastillas" scam which allowed the illegal entry of Chinese nationals to the country. In a press statement, acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the Palace welcomes the decision as it shows the administration's "zero-tolerance policy against corruption in the bureaucracy." "The recent decision of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing immigration employees in connection with the pastillas scam underscores that there are no sacred cows in the Duterte Administration," Andanar said. Andanar, however, acknowledged that corruption remains "a challenge" within government. He said the government is mandating automation and digitalization in government processes and transactions in the collection of fees to combat widespread corruption. "W
(File photo) MANILA - Malacanang on Wednesday brushed aside Senator Richard Gordon's fresh tirade against President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's anti-narcotics drive. In a virtual presser, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, also acting presidential spokesperson, dismissed as a mere "political noise" the claim of Gordon that Duterte seemed to have failed to end the drug problem in the country. "As we all know, we are in the middle of the campaign season and this is part of the political noise," Andanar said, when sought to react to the statement of Gordon, who is seeking reelection in the May 9, 2022 national elections, on Duterte's drug war. In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Gordon branded Duterte as "idol of the blind." Gordon also blasted Duterte for the latter's alleged unfulfilled promise to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in his first three to six months in power. On March 31, Duterte expressed optimism that the country
(PNA file photo) MANILA - Malacanang on Saturday guaranteed that the government would double its efforts to address hunger incidence in the country. This, after the Social Weather Stations (SWS), in its Dec. 12 to 16, 2021 survey, found that 11.8 percent of Filipino families or an estimated three million experienced "involuntary" hunger from October to December 2021 due to lack of food. "We take note of the latest Social Weather Stations' survey," acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press statement. "This figure is lower compared to the 16 percent of families who had the same experience in the last quarter of 2020." According to the SWS survey, the number of Filipino households who experienced hunger in the past three months of 2021 was higher than the 10 percent or estimated 2.5 million families recorded in September 2021. The latest hunger rate, however, is still lower compared to what was reported i