FILE PHOTO: Senator Richard Gordon and President Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon told President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday that he did not steal funds when he was the chair of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Gordon was criticized by Duterte several times during the latter’s taped addresses to the nation. He said that the senator should return the disallowed funds he allegedly incurred during his stint in the SBMA.
READ: Duterte to Gordon: Pay ‘disallowed’ funds; we need it to buy COVID-19 vaccines
“Hindi ko rin ho nga mapag-lubos isipan eh ako nga pinagbibintangan du’n sa Subic na ninakaw ko raw ‘yung P840 million, ngayon naging P140 million. Wala po akong ninakaw du’n, Mr. President. ‘Yun po ay mga sweldo ng mga nag-volunteer na hindi nababayaran, nabayaran po lahat ‘yan,” Gordon said during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing of the Pharmally mess.
(I cannot fathom, he accuses me of stealing P840 million, which is now P140 million. I did not steal, Mr. President. Those were the compensation of the volunteers yet to be paid, which were already given.)
“At ‘yun po ang mga binili, mayroon po akong mga affidavit ng gobyerno ng Amerika na walang katiwalian na binili namin ‘yung mga iniwanan nila doon at binayaran namin ‘yun,” he continued.
(And those that were purchased, I have affidavits from the government of America that there are no irregularities from what we procured.)
Likewise, the lawmaker noted that he was charged, but the case was already dismissed.
“Ngayon inuulit ko 30 years later, sinasabi ko lang po ‘yan ngayon para maliwanagan ang tao na palaging inuulit ng mga trolls ninyo na ako’y nagnakaw du’n. Pa’no ‘ko magnanakaw?,” he stressed.
(Now, I reiterate 30 years later, I’m only saying this now to enlighten the people because your trolls repeatedly say that I stole there. How will I steal?)
In a press release issued in November 2021, Gordon’s office said that the alleged P140 million disallowed funds “had been lawfully spent and accounted for to transform the former US naval base into the premier investment hub of the country.”
“Pero ‘yung nagtrabaho sa Subic, kami pa ang kakasuhan niyo (Those who worked in Subic, you will charge us). Excuse me, Mr. President. I’m ready to face that music anytime. Magsinungaling na kayo hanggang gusto niyo (Lie all you want.). The truth will always set me free,” said Gordon.
READ: Duterte threatens to bring Gordon to Ombudsman if ‘disallowed’ SBMA funds are not returned
Aside from alleging that Gordon stole, Duterte lambasted the senator amid the Senate blue ribbon committee’s investigation of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., a firm that bagged billions worth of government deals to provide medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic despite a paid-up capital of only P625,000.
READ: P8.7-B med supply deals went to tiny company
In one of the panel’s hearings, Gordon showed a video of Duterte meeting with Pharmally officials in Davao City in 2017.
READ: Gordon to Duterte: Protect Filipinos, not Pharmally, ‘Davao boys’