MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Richard Gordon said on Wednesday that he hopes to get majority of the Senate to support the partial report detailing the blue ribbon committee's investigation about the government's pandemic spending.
The report, released to reporters on Tuesday evening, said charges may be filed against President Rodrigo Duterte for the "betrayal of public trust", after appointing foreign national Michael Yang as an economic adviser to the president in 2018, discrediting the Commission on Audit and Senate, and ordering a "patently-illegal" memorandum barring his officials from attending the Senate's hearings, among others.
Related Stories
Duterte is immune from suit while sitting president.
Yang was earlier identified as a backer of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which is at the center of the congressional investigations.
"We have a substantial number [of supporters]. In the afternoon, we intend to bring it to the floor and they [the senators] shared that they will support it," Gordon told reporters in Tagalog during an online briefing.
Gordon chairs the Senate Committee on the Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, which launched hearings into the controversial multibillion-peso deals between Pharmally and the government in procuring medical supplies.
He did, however, not give an exact number of the senators who committed to signing the partial report, which, at the time of release, only contained Gordon's signature.
"I think it is a very substantial report. We worked on this for 18 days...I hope that the Senate won't be divided on this. It will be tragic if we will be divided on partisan basis. The Senate can only be divided in terms of [what is] truth and [what is a] lie," Gordon said.
Once he gets majority of the Senate's vote of support for the partial committee report, Gordon intends to report it to the plenary.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who was at the briefing, indicated his support for the partial report.
"I fully support the...Blue Ribbon report. Everything in the report is true. All of the findings went through numerous investigations," the former boxer said in Filipino.
Pacquiao, who is running for president, agreed that he will sign the partial report without any reservations.
On Tuesday evening, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said that she is still reviewing the details of the partial committee reports, but commended Gordon for his courage and conviction.
"What is clear is that our health workers were shortchanged by a group of bandits with powerful protectors," she said in a statement on Viber.
'Duque: The panel report is a mere draft'
The report named Health Secretary Francisco Duque as one of the personalities who violated the anti-graft and corrupt practices act, as well as the plunder law.
Sought for comment, he claimed that the panel report is a "mere draft", which still has to undergo a process within the committee.
"Nevertheless, if the Blue Ribbon adopts the recommendation, we will wait for the action of the appropriate Tribunal. It is assured that we will fully cooperate with the Tribunal's process as we have nothing to hide," he told reporters on Viber.
He maintained that all procurements for the country's COVID-19 response "were made through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management."
"We at the Department of Health were not part of the activity as we were focused on the medical side of the pandemic response," he said.
Meanwhile, Raymond Fortun, the lawyer of the embattled Yang, said that the partial report is not rooted in fact.
"The conclusions in the report have no legal nor factual basis, done not in aid of legislation but solely for reelection. Mr. Yang looks forward to the report being handled by an impartial investigation body that would decide the case based on actual evidence instead of hallucinations," Fortun said.
Gordon, on Wednesday, said he does not think the release of the partial report will affect his chances of getting re-elected.
"No, it will not affect the chances of my reelection, principally because I think a lot of people do not believe the president anymore. I don't run on the basis of Pharmally. I run on the basis of my long-standing record," he told reporters.