President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed a memorandum formally barring Cabinet officials from attending the Senate hearings on the government’s controversial deal with pharmaceutical firm Pharmally.
“We cannot allow this blatant disrespect to continue. (Senator Richard) Gordon, you are not god, and you cannot play god — no, you cannot continue this hearing till kingdom come. You are not a senator forever and your time of reckoning will come,” the President said in his Talk to the People aired late last night, which also showed him signing the memorandum.
He accused Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, of conducting a witch hunt.
“If you think you have enough evidence against Pharmally, file cases against them at the proper courts. The Senate is not a criminal court. Stop using it simply as a witch hunt,” Duterte said.
The President turned the tables anew on Gordon. First, he called on Filipino voters to shun Gordon should he run for any elective post in the future. Second, he announced the decision of the Commission on Audit to conduct a special audit on the subsidies received by the Philippine Red Cross, of which Gordon is chairman. Third, he called on COA to run after Gordon over the notice of disallowance for P140 million issued to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority when Gordon headed the agency two decades ago.
He said COA chairperson Michael Aguinaldo issued the special audit order on Sept. 23, covering all subsidies or funds transferred to the PRC from January 2016 to September 2021.
“When Gordon runs for any public office, remember the P140 million [covered by the COA disallowance], including the P86 million…If you used that money, or if you stole that money, return that,” the President said.
The President’s announcement that he has already issued a memorandum ran counter to the assurance given by presidential spokesman Harry Roque earlier in the day that Cabinet officials will continue attending the Senate hearings for the purposes of transparency because they are not hiding anything.
Roque made the assurance after several business groups and professionals called on public officials to cooperate with the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged overpriced procurement of medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat COVID-19.
In a statement from the Makati Business Club on the PPE purchases, the groups called on “all parties to pursue and cooperate with this investigation to the fullest extent allowed by law.”
“Our frontliners and the Filipino people deserve a full and fair accounting. As well, the pursuit of good governance is a pillar of the just, inclusive, and functioning society we aspire to,” they said.
Signing the statement apart from the MBC were the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Investment Houses Association of the Philippines, Judicial Reform Initiative, Management Association of the Philippines, Shareholders Association of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Naga University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, De La Salle University, and De La Salle Philippines.
Roque maintained that the Senate should not hold in contempt Cabinet officials who ignore their summons to attend probes.
Citing again the High Court’s 2008 ruling on the case Romulo Neri vs. Senate, Roque said the Senate’s contempt power is limited.
“They should not be held in contempt because they are alter egos and under the control and supervision of the President. So, it’s not their fault if they are barred by the President,” he said.
He also reiterated that there was “no overpricing” in the procurement of medical supplies, including PPEs.