President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he was offended by chief
Dionisio Santiago's comment that building the mega drug rehabilitation facility
in Nueva Ecija was a mistake.
“I was offended. He could have asked me for an audience and tell
me all about it,” Duterte told the reporters prior to his departure for Vietnam
to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
“Kaya kita inilagay diyan not to issue statements to the press.
Nilagay kita diyan para magpunta ka sa akin kung ano ang problema sa bayan at
tuturuan mo kung nagkulang ako, kung ano ang dapat gawin. You don’t go open to
the press and start to blabber,” he said.
Santiago had tendered his irrevocable resignation on Monday on
Duterte's orders, reportedly relayed to him by Executive Secretary Salvador
Medialdea. This after Santiago called the construction of the mega drug
rehabilitation facility a "mistake."
Santiago, a former military chief and head of the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency, had made the comment on an interview.
He said money used for the Mega Treatment and Rehabilitation
Center in Nueva Ecija could have been used to fund smaller community-based
rehabilitation programs.
The rehab center was a key project under Duterte's war on drugs
built in partnership with philanthropists, led by Chinese tycoon Huang Rulun.
"That was a mistake. Ang problema, naging excited si President.
'Yung ginasta doon, puwedeng ginamit sa mga community-based rehab yun, malilit
which can only accommodate siguro mga 150 to 200," Santiago said.
Moreover, he said admitting drug dependents to the treatment
center must be difficult due to its location.
READ MORE>> BREAKING NEWS: Dionisio Santiago nag-quit bilang chairman ng Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB)
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