President Rodrigo Duterte has required Cabinet members to get a clearance from him first before they can attend the Senate investigation into the government’s purchase of allegedly overpriced pandemic-related supplies.
In a taped address aired Tuesday morning, Duterte said he is not questioning the authority and the power of the Senate to investigate in aid of legislation. However, he said some resource persons, especially those coming from the Executive department, attended the hearings for hours but were not given a chance to give their testimonies.
“We do not question the authority and the power of the Senate to investigate in aid of legislation. But alam mo kasi, nakita ko na pinapatawag ninyo almost so many persons and yet you only able to put the resource person for five, six, seven hours, ‘yung iba naghihintay na wala namang silbi, and yet the subpoenas are repeated every hearing at pinapatawag sila and they get most of the DOH officials in these morning hearings, they are all there doing nothing,” Duterte said.
(We do not question the authority and the power of the Senate to investigate in aid of legislation, but I saw that you call almost so many persons to hearings that lasted five, six, seven hours, and yet some of them are just waiting and doing nothing.)
Duterte mentioned Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as an example, saying the Health chief’s testimony are not being used as the Senate probe is already “branching out” to other issues.
The President said the investigation started with the purchases made by the Department of Health that was flagged by the Commission on Audit; then to the issue with Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the small company that bagged billions of pesos worth of government contracts; and now illegal drugs.
“Mahirap ‘yang ganyan pinapatawag niyo, pabalik-balik tapos di naman niyo nayu-utilize ang testimony,” Duterte said.
(It is difficult for them to be called in the hearings yet their testimonies are not being utilized.)
“This time, I will require every Cabinet member to clear with me any invitation and if I think, that he will be called for walang silbi [no purpose] except to harass, to be berated in front of the republic, eh hintuin ko na yan at pagbawalan ko na (I will bar them from attending),” he added.
While Duterte acknowledged the power of the Senate to cite the Cabinet members in contempt, he said he can exercise his authority over his Cabinet secretaries as head of the Executive Department.
“Now, may option kayo, you can cite in contempt pero ako na magsabi na ako ang may utos na hindi mag-attend [but I will order them not to attend] so that is, I think I can do it as president really if there is an abuse of authority there or exceeding the authority of the reasonable time that the Congress conducts a hearing I will limit you to what you can do with the Executive Department of the government,” he said.
Duterte said anew that the senators are stretching the hearing because “it is good for the election.” —KBK, GMA News
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