President Rodrigo Duterte must be held accountable for supposedly condoning the acts of his associates and appointees involved in the allegedly anomalous contracts to provide COVID-19 supplies to the government, Sen. Richard Gordon said Wednesday.
In its 113-page partial report, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Gordon said Duterte "betrayed the public trust" for seeking to discredit the Senate and Commission on Audit in its investigations and for stopping Cabinet officials from participating in the panel's hearings.
"Instead of getting to the bottom of the situation and punishing those responsible, [the President] unleashed fury at and threatened the Senate and the senators... Worse, he repeatedly and publicly defended and protected those closest to him," Gordon told reporters in an interview.
"The President’s own behavior leaves us to conclude nothing less than that he was aware of, allowed, and condoned the misdeeds of his closest associates and appointees. For this, he must be held accountable," he added.
As early as September last year, Durterte denied allegations of corruption over his administration's use of COVID-19 pandemic funds, accusing lawmakers investigating the matter for politicking.
He also defended his former adviser, Michael Yang, who supposedly had ties with Pharmally.
The partial committee report said that while Duterte enjoys immunity from suit due to his position, charges must be considered against him at some point after his term.
Gordon said a charge of inciting to sedition may be filed against Duterte for asking his Cabinet officials to snub the hearings, as well as inexcusable negligence of duty for allowing Yang, a Chinese national, to supposedly have a role in these contracts.
The President also violated the Constitution for disrespecting a co-equal branch of the government after he prevented his Cabinet officials from participating in the hearings, Gordon added.
Gordon said it is up to the Department of Justice or the Office of the Ombudsman to pursue the possible charges against Duterte once he becomes an ordinary citizen.
Among the recommendations in the partial committee report are the filing of plunder and graft charges against Yang, Health Sec. Francisco Duque III, ex-DBM procurement service head Christopher Lloyd Lao, and several Pharmally officials over the supposedly disadvantageous COVID-19 supply contracts.
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