President Duterte said he will leave Senator Richard Gordon alone if he pays the government P86 million, the worth of disallowed expenses he claimed that Gordon incurred when he was still Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman.
Duterte made the statement after the Senator slammed him for having the time to check out luxury watches at a mall in Makati as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In his pre-recorded public address on Wednesday evening, October 6, the President told Gordon to return the P86 million to the government so it can be used to boost the country's coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination program.
"Bayaran mo, kasi kinakailangan ng gobyerno dahil magbili pa tayo ng maraming bakuna (Pay the government because we need to buy more vaccines)," he said.
"Alam mo ‘yan. Kulang ang pera natin at naipon natin (You know that. We don't have enough money and our funds are not enough), but we have 110 million souls to worry about," he added.
According to the President, he will leave Gordon alone if the latter returns the said amount to the government.
"Pakiusap ko lang sa iyo, bayaran mo. Tapos na ako sa iyo ‘pag nabayaran mo (I am asking you to pay up. I am done with you once you've paid up)," he said.
Before this, Duterte said he would campaign against the Senator for being a thief.
"Sabi ko sa’yo kakampanya ako laban sa iyo. Eh, magnanakaw ka, eh. Isang issue ko lang sa iyo, P86 million na nanakaw mo (I told you I would campaign against you. Because you are a thief. That's my only issue with you, the P86 million that you stole)," he said.
"Eh, kasi kung sabihin mo na wala sa iyo, eh ‘di nasaan? Eh, ‘di ninakaw mo (If you tell me that you don't have money,then where is it? You stole it, then). What did you --- what happened to the money?" he added.
The President reminded Senator Gordon that the Supreme Court had already ordered him to pay the government P86 million.
"That order of the Supreme Court is final and executory. Bakit hindi mo bayaran? Bayaran mo ‘yan kasi ninakaw mo (Why won't you pay up? Pay up because you stole it)," he said.