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[av_heading heading=’Duterte fires Marina chief over ‘excessive’ overseas trips ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Marcial Amaro III on Thursday for making allegedly excessive trips abroad.
His two dozen overseas travels got Amaro fired, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told a media briefing in Davao City.
Amaro had 11 foreign trips last year, a complaint that the Alliance of Marina employees sent to Duterte stated.
But an investigation by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) showed that Amaro went out of the country 18 times in 2017 and six in 2016.
“Based on the documents, all of Amaro’s trips were official except for one,” Roque said. “Only three of the trips were sponsored while the others were paid by the Philippine government.”
“(Amaro) also received an honorarium and other sums for almost all of his trips abroad,” Roque added. “The President has decided, therefore, to terminate his services.”
Amaro’s firing came less than a month after Duterte dismissed Presidential Commission on Urban Poor chairman Terry Ridon and his fellow commissioners for going on overseas trips seven times.
“If seven foreign travels were deemed excessive by the President, 24 travels were definitely excessive by the President’s standards,” said Roque. “The point of the President is we have to be selective on the trips that we undertake.”
Marina is an attached agency of the DOTr. It is mandated to “adopt and implement a practicable and coordinated Maritime Industry Development Program.”
The agency also supervises and regulates the organizational management, ownership and operations of all water transport utilities and other maritime enterprises./PN
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