PNOC exec fired over Russian deal, Rody confirms

MANILA, Philippines – In line with his campaign against corruption, President Duterte said he fired Philippine National Oil Co. Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC)) head Pedro Aquino Jr.  for his role in a questionable deal with a Russian firm.

“I just fired yesterday (an official of the) subsidiary of PNOC, it’s a company. Here is a guy who prepared a contract with the Russians, and the Russians thought that it – that was all there is to it. ‘Yung gusto niya, wala naman pala siyang… He wanted now the board of trustees to ratify what he prepared,” Duterte said.

During his speech at the 45th Philippine Business Conference and Expo at the Manila Hotel on Thursday night, Duterte said he confronted Aquino for prematurely negotiating a deal with a Russian firm without the authorization of the board of directors and concerned officials.

“Kaya sabi ko, ‘Adre, abogado ka?’ ‘Yes.’ Sabi ko, ‘Ano ‘yung kalokohan mo na baliktad? Instead of you given the power to draft, to prepare, to whatnot and then after that have it approved by the board of directors,” he said.

“Baliktad ang gusto mo eh (What you want is the opposite). Ikaw ‘yung contract and you want the board of directors to ratify your idiotic contract,” Duterte said, recalling his confrontation with Aquino who was reportedly summoned to Malacañang earlier this week over the controversial deal.

The President mentioned the matter to illustrate to businessmen how serious he has been in the fight against government corruption.

He told the group that he would entertain complaints related to corruption, particularly on the processing of documents.?The incident came a few weeks after Duterte concluded his five-day visit to Russia where he met with the officials of Rosneft, Moscow’s top oil producer, whom the Chief Executive invited to invest in the Philippines.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo confirmed early this week that Aquino was forced to resign for loss of confidence.

Last Thursday, Panelo said the President had urged Rosneft to undergo proper processes if they want to continue investing on oil and gas  exploration in the country.