Former Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueño sought for a Senate probe on the corruption charges filed against him, which led to his removal from his post by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Sueño maintained that he is innocent on the allegations leveled against him when he served as the DILG chief from July 2016 to March 2017.
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Duterte sacked him following allegations of receiving millions of protection money from illegal gambling operations and taking part in the anomalous purchase of multimillion firetrucks from Austria. The President even showed his firing of Sueño, who campaigned for him during the 2016 national elections, as an example of his commitment to eradicating corruption in Philippine government.
Sueño said he wanted a Senate investigation on the charges he is facing so he can prove his innocence, adding that his accusers might have deliberately ‘misinformed’ the President about him.
In an August 25 article on The Philippine Star, Sueño said he and his family have suffered enough due to the baseless accusations thrown against him and even compared himself to the 17-year-old Kian delos Santos.
“Para na rin akong si Kian delos Santos na nakadapa na, binira pa,‘di lang ako pati pamilya ko ay nasasaktan,” he said.
“Paulit-ulit na, why can’t he (Duterte) get over it? I’ve been the one suffering… I can’t understand, that’s why I am breaking my silence,” he told Philippine Star in a phone interview.
The former DILG secretary said he chose to react after the Philippine Star published an article on August 23 titled “Duterte hits unnamed official over lavish lifestyle.” In the article, Duterte mentioned Sueño and accused him of visiting Washington “to stroll around” and going to Austria to purchase firetrucks worth P18 million each. He also accused Sueño of having 10 cops as bodyguards.
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After staying silent for several months after he was fired from office, Sueño debunked these accusations from the President.
- He did not push through with his scheduled visit to Washington.
- He did not go to Austria to buy firetrucks worth P18 million each “because it was already a done deal.” He said that the deal was signed in 2014 between Austria and the Philippine government. He added that each firetruck also cost P4 million each, not P18 million, as Duterte has mentioned. According to the government-to-government deal, the firetrucks will be paid in 31 years, with the payment starting on the 8th year (2022). Sueño also said that these Austrian firetrucks are much cheaper than the ones purchased from China for P7 million each.
- He said he did not want cops as bodyguards, but it was “the work of the Special Police Assistance under PNP. He also pointed out how the President failed to mention that the Secretary of National Defense even has more bodyguards.
Duterte fired Sueño during the 14th Cabinet meeting on April 4, which the Palace said should serve as a “warning that Mr. Duterte would not countenance any questionable or legally untenable decisions by any member of the Cabinet.” The President made the decision despite the fact that Sueño was among those who convinced Duterte to run for the presidency.
Sources: ( mb.com.ph , philstar.com , abs-cbn.com )
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