Rizal Hall, Malacañang
August 15, 2016

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led the mass oath-taking ceremonies of forty-two presidential appointees at the Rizal Hall of Malacañan Palace.

In his keynote address, the President appealed to the newly appointed officials to help him address the problem of continuous complaints of corruption in the government.

“Let us just work together…and I know that you’d come in with the best of credentials of competence and honesty,” he said. He added that he will show another list of the rest of the “scalawags in government”.

President Duterte also restated the administration’s drive to end the use of illegal drugs in the country, noting the rising number of drug personalities surrendering to the authorities.

“There is no way to stop it now, there can be no stopping of the momentum until I have destroyed the apparatus… simply if I allow it, there will be no Philippines tomorrow,” he said.

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