President Rodrigo Roa Duterte presides over the 43rd Cabinet Meeting at the Malacañan Palace on November 6, 2019. (Presidential photo of Alfred Frias)
MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday issued an ultimatum demanding the completion of state offices and departments' paperwork by December 15.
The President gave the order, as he once again vented frustrations over the allegedly sluggish performance of some government offices when it comes to attending to several documents.
In a speech delivered on Wednesday night, Duterte was optimistic that workers in the government "can improve on [their] work".
"It seems that things are moving very slow. And that is why it is still a source of corruption. The longer you sit on the paper or nothing at all --- either you are not working, you are a... I don’t know what you’d do with government," Duterte said during the 80th anniversary of the Department of National Defense held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
"Even the Cabinet members they have one month to decide. I must have your decision of the papers before you. And I said last night, it has to be December 15. It’s been so many months now. Papers that are on your table must be out with a decision. If it’s for approval, good; if it is for denial, fine. But let it out," he said.
The President has persistently expressed disappointments over the slow delivery of public service in some state offices.
In January this year, Duterte told two unnamed officials from the Department of Agrarian Reform to either resign or face charges over their supposed failure to fast-track the processing of land conversion applications.
Duterte, in his latest speech, said he could not stomach delays in the processing of government transactions.
He cautioned that public servants who will fail to streamline the processing of documents will be "out of office".
"So I said, I’ll give you one month. The directors, if you sit on it any longer, then you’re waiting for the guy could come to you again and you ask money," Duterte said.
"And I said that you do not have to do that. If you have an application, anybody of you here, any foreigner and you want your papers filed with government, give it to me and I will give it to the proper department with a corresponding order. Do that in one month or else you go out of the office," he added. (PNA)
