President Duterte said that he wanted the Ombudsman involved in making Senator Gordon pay back PHP 86 million.
President Rodrigo Duterte said that he wanted the Office of the Ombudsman to take cognizance of Senator Richard Gordon’s alleged failure to pay the PHP 86 million he owed to the government.
The President once again brought up Senator Gordon’s name in his latest “Talk to the People” briefing, which concluded at past midnight Wednesday.
It’s been almost a month since the President “exposed” that no less than the Supreme Court (SC) had ordered the Senate blue ribbon committee chairman to return the PHP 86 million, which was part of the PHP 140 million worth public funds that the Commission on Audit (COA) had issued a notice of disallowance for.
The disallaowance, according to a report on Manila Bulletin, was reportedly incurred during Senator Gordon’s time as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman from March 13, 1992 to June 30, 1998.
“You have not even taken steps to deliver the P86 million. And so I think we will have to see if we can call the Ombudsman to step in because matagal na itong utang na ito at final and executory na,” President Duterte said.
Former Supreme Court Associate Justice and current Ombudsman Samuel Martires was appointed to his position by the President in 2018.
READ ALSO: President Duterte Tells Senator Gordon To Pay “Disallowed” Funds
The President also wondered out loud over how Senator Gordon managed to avoid paying back the huge sum of money that he had “taken”. He also gave a sarcastic answer on his own query.
“So bakit kung senador ang may tama, walang nagagawa at ilang taon na to. So itong mga senador siguro, they are exempted from the operation of the law,” President Duterte said.
Senator Gordon was the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee as well as the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
President Duterte had repeatedly criticized Senator Gordon for the way he has run both the Blue Ribbon panel and the Philippine Red Cross in his past briefings.
Last October 4, the President told the senator to pay to the government PHP 140 million in “disallowed” funds he accrued when he’s still the SBMA chairman.
At that time, President Duterte said that a significant amount could be tapped to buy COVID-19 vaccines.
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