MANILA - Publicly shaming government officials would not be effective in ridding government agencies of irregularities, a former Secretary of the Interior said Tuesday.

Recalling that he too had to "do a lot of firings" during his term, former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan said "every President has his own style" when it comes to setting his officials straight.

Alunan, who served under the cabinet of former President Fidel Ramos from 1992 to 1996, launched Oplan Pagbabago and Oplan Paglalansag during his time, and issued presidential guidelines along with them.

Among the guidelines was a bar on undue shaming by mass punishment, a measure that Alunan enforced to avoid trial by publicity.

"What we wanted to do was to get the job done and then make the announcement later. There were times when we had to massage the situation to ensure that there would be very little friction in carrying out the program," he said in an interview with ANC's Headstart on Tuesday.

He said he didn't believe in shaming government officials because "there’s still the dignity of the person that has to be upheld."

"We don’t shame the person; we shame the deed. It’s the deed, not the person, because every person has his good and bad side. What we want to bring out as a lesson to everybody is the misdeed, so that’s what we focused on," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte fired DILG Secretary Mike Sueno last week due to "loss of trust and confidence," according to Malacañang.

Sueno's dismissal followed complaints that his three Undersecretaries sent to President Duterte, all accusing Sueno of collecting grease money from illegal gambling rings. Sueno denied the allegations, maintaining that he actually rejected an offer to protect gambling syndicates in exchange for payola.

Before Sueno, Duterte said he fired 92 government personnel in his continuing drive against corruption in his administration.

• Read: The firing line: The President's men sacked over corruption allegations

Alunan said he knew nothing about Sueno's dismissal other than information reported in the media. But he would like to believe that "protocols are being followed," and that the public may simply have too little information to make a good judgment.

It's still difficult to say what exactly is motivating the President in his actions, but Alunan believes the moves are consistent with Duterte's anti-corruption campaign.

"He’s been telling everybody every time he has the opportunity to speak to ‘stop it.’ And when people don’t heed his instructions, he gets really, really mad," he said.

"Perhaps that’s what’s driving him—he has to drive home the point that he is very serious," he added.

Alunan is one of the names floated to replace Sueno, and he said he would discuss the possibility of him returning to his old post when Duterte comes around to asking him.

Soon after firing Sueno, Duterte named former Davao Police chief Catalino Cuy in his stead.

• Ex-Davao police chief named DILG OIC