Is Duterte ‘the wisdom of the day or a terror?’ Lacson asks

MANILA, Philippines — Is the President the “wisdom of the day or a terror?”

Senator Panfilo Lacson posed this question on Thursday as the fate of ABS-CBN hangs in the balance.

Lacson pointed out that despite the acceptance of apology, President Rodrigo Duterte still holds the key whether his allies at the House of Representatives should renew the legislative franchise of the media giant.

The senator pointed out that it’s unfair for ABS-CBN to bear the burden of failure to secure its franchise when it was Congress that had not acted on the pending bills, extending its franchise for another 25 years. If not renewed or extended, the franchise would expire by May 4 this  year.

“You can say that, it’s really unfair to them. Hindi nila kasalanan kasi hindi sila late mag-file ng application na translate into bills. There are at least 11 bills pending in the House of Representatives,” he said at the regular Kapihan sa Senado.

(You can say that, it’s really unfair to them. It’s not their fault because they did not file later their application which  was translated into bills. There are at least 11 bills pending in the House of Representatives)

“And I really don’t know if the President is the wisdom of the day or a terror. It’s either one, kasi basta nagsalita siya parang yun na (because when he says something then that’s  it). So is he the wisdom of the day?” the senator then asked.

While Duterte claimed he did not call any congressman to block the franchise renewal, the senator said the chief executive’s previous pronouncements showed otherwise.

In the past, Duterte has repeatedly said he would block the franchise of ABS-CBN as he accused the network of not airing his pad advertisements during the 2016 elections. His spokesperson and chief presidential legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, however, later on belied the implication of the president’s words, saying his “threats” against the network are “not literal.”

READ: Duterte to ABS-CBN: Apology accepted but franchise up to House

As to whether Duterte does not really interfere, Lacson said: “Past experience? I have no comment.”

Lacson though stressed that the Senate acts “more independently” than the House of Representatives.

“Whether they admit it or not, that’s a reality. And that’s a reality we have to live with na sa House, talagang pag nagsalita ang Presidente, sa amin we act more independently sa Senate, 24 lang kami pero 24 republics kami rito,”  he said.

(Whether they admit  it or not, that’s a reality. And that’s a reality we have to live with, that in the House, when the President says something… We act more independently here in the Senate. We are only 24, but we are 24 republics here)

Edited by EDV