Raise your hand if you want to join my Cabinet, Duterte quips to bizmen

DAVAO CITY — So who wants to be part of the Duterte Cabinet?

 

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who admitted having difficulties convincing people to join his government, jokingly invited businessmen to join his Cabinet, saying he was ready to create titles for them.

 

Speaking in a business forum Tuesday in Davao City, Duterte defended his decision to give Cabinet posts to his friends and former classmates, saying he was just a probinsyano who did not have much acquaintances.

 

“I’m really tied in the wall probinsyano,” he said.

 

“Ang nakilala ko sa buhay ko mga taga-Davao. Di naman ako niyaya ng mga sosyal sa Maynila. (I’ve known people from Davao. I was never invited to events by socialites from Manila).”

 

Now that he is the president-elect, Duterte said he can create titles for just about anyone.

 

“If you want, I will hire you. Just raise your right hand,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience.

 

“The president has prerogative of naming titles, attaching it and raising it to Cabinet level. If you want, I can hire you all. Just joking,” he added.

 

Duterte went on to say that as a student he never excelled in economics. He said he has designated people who are comfortable with the subject.

 

“I told you I almost failed economics,” Duterte said.

 

“Ayoko yan. Nakakahilo yan. Dito taas tapos bukas lugi. Kung ganyan ang negosyo mo e di huminto ka na lang (I don’t like that. It makes me dizzy. The figures go up and then tomorrow, the business is bankrupt. If that’s the way your business works, you should just stop),” he added.

 

Duterte, nevertheless, vowed to provide a conducive environment for business by stamping out corruption and crime. He noted that investors cannot grow their business if security threats persist.

 

“I don’t like corruption. It makes me sick,” Duterte said.