MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is "most eager" to answer questions about its directive for officials to skip the Senate hearings on the government's pandemic supply deals, President Rodrigo Duterte said.
Duterte vowed to defend his memorandum barring executive officials from attending the hearings without his permission, saying there are records that would prove the senators' rude behavior toward their resource persons.
"At last, the members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee have finally seen the light. We welcome this move of bringing the legality of the memorandum to the Supreme Court and we would like to congratulate the members for realizing, albeit late... that it is the court which should eventually decide on the constitutionality of the order and we will defend it," Duterte said during a pre-recorded public address last Monday.
"This is by far the most decent thing the committee has done and we are most eager to answer whatever questions you have regarding my not allowing officials of the Executive to attend your hearings that are (for) legislative purposes," he added.
The Senate blue ribbon committee is conducting a probe on the allegedly overpriced pandemic supply contracts of the Duterte administration but officials insist there are no anomalies in the purchases.
Earlier this month, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued a memorandum directing officials and employees of the executive branch to no longer appear in the hearings and to focus their efforts on addressing COVID-19.
According to the memorandum, it has become evident that the hearings are conducted "not in aid of legislation, but to identify persons to hold accountable for alleged irregularities already punishable under existing laws." Medialdea argued that the Senate blue ribbon committee "has stepped into the mandates of other branches of government, and has deprived itself of the only basis to compel attendance to its hearings." Malacañang has also accused senators of using the hearings to gain publicity for the upcoming 2022 elections.
Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon recently said senators are planning to question the legality of Duterte's memorandum before the Supreme Court.
Duterte said Gordon had shouted at resource persons and had acted like a judge and a professor during the hearings.
"When we reach the Supreme Court we will just subpoena the entire proceedings captured on TV. I think government also has a record. We will tell the Supreme Court, look at the actuations, look at the behavior. Do you think that you'd be happy appearing there answering questions for the government?" the president said.
"Gordon should move to the judiciary. There, he can shout and his sheriff might shoot him... This is not feudal times. You have to be courteous. If you want to be treated with courtesy, you have to practice it," he added.
Duterte reiterated his appeal for Filipinos not to support senators whom he claimed have not done anything.
"I told the Filipinos, you are hard headed. Remove those who have been there for a long time but have not done anything. I will prepare a list of people who should return (to the Senate) before the election," the President said.
Duterte maintained that the Senate hearings have not proven allegations that there was corruption in the pandemic supply contracts.
"But you have failed to realize that because you have become unthinkingly enthusiastic...on proving that there are irregularities in the procurement done by government and this has been disproven and refuted," Duterte said.
"What have you produced? Corruption? Did anything come out of this? You summoned people and then what happened? They only felt bad. They were cursed. Are there cases? File them. We have the Ombudsman. You should go there. If we have disagreements, we can go to the Supreme Court," he added.