President Duterte welcomed the legal challenge of memorandum before the Supreme Court.
President Rodrigo Duterte gave rare words of praise to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee as he welcomed the legal challenge of the memorandum before the Supreme Court (SC).
This, after the Blue Ribbon panel decided to challenge before the Supreme Court the legality of President Duterte’s order to ban Cabinet members and other executive officials from attending Senate hearings.
During the “Talk to the People” public briefing aired Monday evening, President Duterte recalled that he had a memorandum prohibiting the Cabinet members and other executive officials from appearing in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings without his permission.
“At last, the members of then Senate Blue Ribbon Committee have finally seen the light. We welcome this move of bringing the legality of the memorandum to the Supreme Court and we would like to congratulate the members for realizing–albeit late–that (it) is the court which should eventually decide on the constitutionality of the order. And we will defend it,” the President said.
According to the President, this was by far the “most decent thing” the Blue Ribbon panel has done and they’re most eager to answer whatever questions regarding his not allowing Cabinet officials to attend the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee was chaired by senatorial candidate Richard Gordon.
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In the past 3 months, Senator Gordon has led over a dozen marathon hearings “in aid of legislation” regarding the government’s alleged anomalous procurement of pandemic supplies in 2020.
The President had assailed the way the Blue Ribbon panel has carried out its probe, with Senator Gordon’s manner of questioning on Cabinet officials being a big sticking point.
President Duterte went as far to say that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearings were “worse than martial law”.
“But we are not saying we are the best mind here; it is now (a) question of law, an issue of law and it could (go) either way. You win, you lose,” President Duterte said, referring to his memo.
The President said that the Supreme Court was the only venue wherein his “disagreement” with the Senate Blue Ribbon committee may be settled.
Without mentioning anybody in particular, President Duterte said that a person has to be courteous if he/she wanted to be treated with courtesy, adding that he/she can ask a question without raising his/her voice or adding an insult to his/her remark.
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