FILE – Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go: “What the opponent wishes is to discredit the Covid response by the administration.” (Henzberg Austria/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines— There is no “grand scheme” of corruption under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go said on Tuesday.
Go slammed attempts to link him to some personalities being dragged into the alleged overpriced personal protective equipment (PPE) being investigated by the Senate blue ribbon committee in a privilege speech.
READ: Some senators sense funds were pocketed in 2020 purchase of ‘overpriced’ PPEs
“Ang gusto po ng kalaban is to discredit the Covid response of the administration,” Go said.
(What the opponent wishes is to discredit the Covid response by the administration.)
“Sa administrasyong ito, walang grand scheme ng pagnanakaw lalo na ngayong pandemic. Hindi po papayag si Pangulong Duterte. Galit po kami ni Pangulong Duterte sa mga magnanakaw,” he said.
(This administration does not allow for grand theft schemes, especially during a time of a pandemic. President Duterte will not allow it; we oppose corruption.)
Stressing that investigations are thwarting the government’s efforts against Covid-19, Go reiterated that anyone found guilty of corruption must be indicted and jailed immediately.
“Habang naghe-hearing, tumataas ang kaso. Hindi na po nakaka focus yung mga government workers natin lalo na yung mga DOH officials at yung involved sa vaccination efforts natin dahil takot na pong gumalaw,” he pointed out.
(As we conduct hearings here, the number of[Covid] cases is rising. Government workers, especially Department of Health officials and those involved in vaccination efforts, often fear doing their jobs.)
Similarly, the senator noted that the same people criticizing the government over the alleged slow response to the pandemic are the ones raising corruption allegations over PPE procurements.
According to Go, however, the price of PPE purchased by the past administration was double that of the same items purchased by the Department of Budget and Management.
“Hindi ko naman alam ‘yun, kagabi ko lang nalaman na ganoon pala ang naging presyo,” he said. “Wala naman po kaming pakialam. Ang importante po, tama at proper ang ginawa ng ating opisyales. Kapag may kasalanan, kasuhan po agad.”
(I didn’t know that, I only learned last night that the price was that high. We don’t care about that. What matters is what our officers did. If you caused the accident, you should immediately file charges.)