Gordon vs Duterte
RICHARD GORDON – The chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee “turned the tables” on President Rodrigo Duterte over alleged corruption.
During the resumption of the committee hearing into the government’s pandemic purchases last year, the incumbent senator cited Duterte’s “admission” of alleged corruption in 2017.
“Kagabi po, tumira na naman…Di ko na po sasagutin yan sapagkat yun ay patutsada lang po ng Pangulo yan, at hindi dapat sinasabi ng Pangulo yon,” he said.
“Ang isasagot ko para alam ng madla, napaka simple lang po, ito po ang sinabi ng Presidente doon sa [Philippine Chinese Charitable Association] on June 28, 2017: ‘I hate corruption. Hindi ako nagmamalinis. Marami rin akong nanakaw pero naubos na,'” he added.
According to the senator, this was an “admission against self-interest.”
On Wednesday, President Duterte hits Gordon and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon anew, saying he would not be the president of the Philippines if he is “corrupt like them.”
But Drilon debunked the claims of the president. He stressed that he’s not corrupt, citing his record is clear and his conscience is clean.
Drilon noted that in his 32 years in public service, nine years in the executive and 23 years in the legislative, he has never been tried for corruption in the Ombudsman or Sandiganbayan.
Meanwhile, Gordon, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine Red Cross and the country’s president Rodrigo Duterte continue to clash amid the Senate inquiry into the use of COVID-19 funds by the Department of Health (DOH).
The SeThe Senate blue ribbon committee, chaired by Gordon is also looking into the purchase of P8.6-billion worth of face masks, face shields, and PPEs from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation courtesy of the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service.
Pharmally is a firm that is being linked to former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang. It only had a P625,000 paid-up capital when started transacting with the government.
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