Aquino ‘no comment’ on Duterte’s ‘I won’t jail ex-presidents’ statement

Former President Benigno S. Aquino III was mum on Thursday over President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he has no plan to file cases against his predecessors.

“No comment,” Aquino told reporters at the Senate when sought to react to Duterte’s statement.

READ: I won’t jail ex-presidents – Duterte

On Wednesday, Duterte said that filing cases against a former leader was not his attitude.

“But to be filing cases against a former president, that’s not my attitude. It’s true,” he said.

Duterte also made a reference to an earlier reported message of Aquino’s youngest sister, Kris, supposedly sent to the President about not putting her brother in prison.

Duterte noted that he had not even filed cases against an opponent, former Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, who had sued him several times.

“Not once did I retaliate,” he said, adding that he would rather fight it out.

Aquino was at the Senate to face the ongoing investigation by the blue ribbon committee on the anti-dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, fiasco set at 10 a.m.

Former Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, who was also invited to attend the hearing, also arrived ahead of the schedule.

Aquino went straight to the office of his cousin, Senator Bam Aquino.        /kga