President Duterte: “If you (Senator Gordon) want to engage me in a debate in public, okay, I will.”
PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE — The President said on Monday that he’s willing to face Senator Richard Gordon in a public debate if the senator would challenge him.
In his “Talk to the People” public address aired on Monday night, the President called Senator Gordon a “thief” anew for his alleged involvement in corruption in the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), which the senator chairs.
“If you want to engage me in a debate in public, okay, I will,” the President said. “I have your case number, Mr. Gordon.”
Based on a report on the Philippine News Agency, a case number refers to the identification number assigned by the clerk of court to a criminal case.
The President, meanwhile, mocked the senator for supposedly spattering while talking.
“Kaya kung magpunta kayo sa mga rally nandiyan si Gordon, magdala kayo ng payong,” the President said.
The President has repeatedly assailed the senator for carrying out probes into alleged irregularities in the government’s procurement of COVID-19 supplies at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
READ ALSO: President Duterte Urges Voters Not To Vote For Gordon, Pangilinan
In an episode of “The President’s Chatroom” aired on Sunday, the President encouraged senatorial aspirant and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to “replace” Gordon in the Senate.
The President said that Senator Gordon and other senators interrogated his Cabinet officials for hours, wasting time that should otherwise have been used at work.
President Duterte has long insisted that the government’s procurement of medical supplies from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. is in accordance with Republic Act 11469 or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1)”.
The President added that Congress was aware of the provision in Bayanihan 1 that authorizes the government to procure emergency supplies without the need to comply with procurement laws.
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