Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and CHR chair Chito Gascon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
“Gascon is really stupid! Hindi ko alam kung abogado ba talaga siya (I am not sure if he’s a real lawyer)!”
These were the new scathing remarks of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon on Wednesday, prodding him to repeatedly read the mandate of his agency.
“Basahin n’ya ‘yung provision nang paulit-ulit, maliwanag du’n: bantayan ang karapatan ng lahat, hindi ‘yung mamimili lang sila (He should read the provisions over and over again. It was clearly stated there: they should safeguard the rights of all, not just of a few),” Alvarez said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum referring to Gascon’s earlier statement that their mandate was to call out state authorities committing human rights violations.
Alvarez also maintained the House of Representatives’ move to give a P1,000 measly budget to the CHR for 2018. He earlier called Gascon “thick-skinned” and “too full of himself.”
READ: CHR chair full of himself, says Alvarez
“If you have a chair na ganyan ang pag-iisip eh bakit mo s’ya bibigyan ng budget (If you have a chair that thinks that way, why will you give them a budget)?” Alvarez said.
“Nagsasayang lang tayo ng budget sa ahensya na wala namang ginagawa. Mas marami pang makikinabang na estudyante kung ilalagay natin sa free tuition law,” he added.
(We are wasting budget on a useless agency. More students will benefit if we will just put the money to the free tuition law.)
The Speaker also questioned Gascon’s independence as CHR chief, noting the former’s ties with the Liberal Party (LP).
“Active member ng party ‘yun eh. Papaano magiging independent ‘yun (He is an active member of the party. How can he be independent)?” Alvarez said. /idl
