Duterte threatens to shut down PLDT over ‘always busy’ anti-graft hotline
MANILA, Philippines (Update 2, 3:48 p.m.) — President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to shut down PLDT Inc if the telecommunication giant won’t set up more trunk lines to accommodate calls to a citizens’ complaint line for reporting corrupt government workers.
Duterte made the statement in a speech during a campaign rally of the ruling PDP-Laban in Cebu last Sunday.
“If you see corruption, tell me. Call 8888. Bong, add another trunk line. The present setup can’t accommodate all the calls. It’s always busy. Tell PLDT. If not, I’ll shut down their business,” Duterte said.
Bong is Christopher Go, who has officially resigned as presidential aide to run for senator.
“Oo, that’s true. I don’t want to brag, but they owe government P8 billion. No president has ever asked for payment. But when I became president, I said…,” he added without elaborating.
Commenting on Duterte's remarks, PLDT said in a statement: "We are currently taking steps to address the concern expressed by the President to improve the public's access to the Citizen's Complaint Center 8888 hotline number."
'8888' hotline
The Civil Service Commission, through the Public Assistance and Information Office, manages Hotline 8888 in support of Duterte’s order to establish a 24-hour national citizens’ complaint hotline, where the public can report corruption and inefficiency in government.
The 8888 Citizens' Complaint Hotline was launched in August 2016.
Complaints will be referred for immediate action to concerned agencies, which are expected to respond within five working days.
Hotline 8888 agents will update callers of the agency’s response or action on the complaints.
In 2017, detained Sen. Leila de Lima asked the Senate to "look into the purported failure of the hotline in accommodating concerns and complaints about corruption in government offices."
She said "Congress has the responsibility to conduct a probe and study the implementation of 8888 [Citizens'] Complaint Hotline as to its effectivity and equal accessibility to all citizens." — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
Editor's Note: Hastings Holdings Inc., a unit under PLDT's media conglomerate MediaQuest Holdings, has a majority stake in Philstar Global Corp., which runs Philstar.com.
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