MANILA, Philippines — “How dare you again ask for the vote of the Filipino people when you failed them?”
Senator Richard Gordon posed this question to President Rodrigo Duterte as he called out the chief executive over sweeping campaign promises that he made to the Filipino people.
“Kaya kayo nanalo sa presidente kayo ay isang huwad na nagpapanggap na isang bayani at binola niyo ang tao at ngayon ay napaptunayan na kayo ay talagang kapatid ang magnanakaw. Sinungaling kayo,” Gordon said.
(You won the presidency solely because you pretended to be a hero and you buttered up the public, but you are a brother of a thief. You’re a liar.)
The senator issued these accusations against the President as the Senate blue ribbon panel resumed its inquiry into the government’s pandemic-related purchases in 2020.
“Nakakaawa kayo sapagkat talagang pinapakita niyo na hindi kayo karapatdapat maging pangulo ng Pilipinas,” Gordon added.
(I pity you because you’re proving that you’re not deserving of being the Philippine president.)
As he admonished Duterte once again for allegedly siding with personalities being investigated by the Senate, Gordon recalled the President’s campaign promises in 2016.
READ: ‘Napapaso ba kayo?’ Gordon hits ‘Atty. Duterte’ for defending Yang, others in Pharmally deals
Duterte is running for the Senate in 2022.
READ: Duterte wants slashed NTF-ELCAC budget restored, urges voters to elect new senators
“Pinangako niyo, yung West Philippine Sea, you did not do it. Ang sabi niyo pa magkakaron kayo ng jetski napupunta kayo doon,” Gordon said.
(You made a promise on the West Philippine Sea. You did not do it. You said you would ride a jet ski and go there.)
READ: Duterte: Jet ski promise just a campaign joke, stupid
He also mentioned Duterte’s promise of eradicating the country’s drug problem within three to six months of his term.
“Pinangako niyo na mauubos ang drugs, maraming naubos puro pawang mahihirap na walang mahawakan na hanapbuhay. Humawak sila sa patalim, nagtutulak sila ng shabu sila, pinapatay, pero yung mga malalaki ay walang nangyayari at sila ay tumatawa all the way to the bank,” Gordon said.
(You said you would eradicate drugs, and some have been eradicated, but the poor have been the ones who suffer. The reality is that drug pushers are being killed while big-time personalities are laughing all the way to the bank.)
“So do not lecture us na kayo ay mas magaling na tao kaysa sa mga senador [that you are better than us senators],” he went on.
He also pointed to Duterte’s tendency to blurt out expletives and resort to personal attacks when slamming his critics.
“Kung sasabihin niyo pa tuturuan mo kaming mga senador pano maging senador…hindi po kami marunong magmura ng mga PI words. Hindi po kami marunong magmura ng Panginoon, ng Santo Papa…kaya wala ho kayong maituturo sa amin,” Gordon said.
(If you told us you taught us how to be senators, we don’t curse God, the Pope, or spit out expletives… You don’t know anything.)
“Sasabihin niyo pa pati katawan ko, pati katawan ni Ping Lacson, at Sen. [Franklin] Drilon, ‘pag bibintangan niyo…Let me tell you that the refuge of the scoundrel is always using ad hominem. Namemersonal kayo dahil wala na kayong masabi,” he added.
(You would pick on our appearance, mine and Ping Lacson’s. You even made accusations against Sen. Drilon…Let me tell you that the scoundrel’s refuge is always using ad hominem. You resort to personal attacks when you have nothing to say.)
READ: Miffed at Senate’s 7-hour hearing, Duterte takes pot shots at senators’ looks
READ: Drilon refutes Duterte: ‘I am not corrupt, my conscience is clean’
Following that, Gordon voiced his criticism regarding the President’s memorandum order prohibiting Cabinet secretaries and executive officials from attending the blue ribbon committee hearing.
READ: Duterte issues memo forbidding Cabinet execs from attending Pharmally probe
At the height of the pandemic last year, the blue ribbon committee has been investigating the government’s purchases of medical goods, including allegedly overpriced face masks, shields and other supplies.
During the inquiry, senators have repeatedly questioned the Department of Health’s transfer of P42 billion to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management to purchase pandemic response supplies.
A portion of this amount went to over P8.6 billion worth of contracts awarded to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. Senators doubted the firm’s financial capacity since it was only established in 2019 with a small capital of P625,000 when it secured the supply deals.
READ: Duterte set to bar Cabinet men from Senate probe on pandemic purchase deals