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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Gordon hits Duterte, Go for visiting luxury watch stores amid pandemic

Gordon hits Duterte, Go for visiting luxury watch stores amid pandemic

Published Oct 5, 2021 01:17 pm

Senator Richard Gordon is not backing down in his word war against President Duterte amid the Senate's ongoing probe on the government's purchase of health supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine Red Cross chairman Senator Richard Gordon (FILE PHOTOS/MANILA BULLETIN)

At the beginning of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's 11th hearing on the issue Tuesday, October 5, Gordon could not help but relate the chief executive in the alleged anomalies in the contracts awarded by the government for procuring COVID-19 related supplies.

He was raising anew the luxury vehicles purchased by executives of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation after bagging over P8.6 billion in deals with the Department of Budget and Management's Procurement Service (DBM-PS), when he mentioned Duterte and his long-time aide Senator Christopher "Bong" Go visiting a stores of luxury watches last Saturday.

"Kumita na sila, may mga kotse na sila...ang gaganda at ang mamahalin. Meron po tayong tinatawag sa Civil Code, conspicuous consumption in times of crisis. Nasa krisis po tayo, nakuha pa nilang bumili (They earned from the governement, and even bought cars, very nice and luxurious cars. We have what we call conspicuous consumption in times of crisis)," Gordon said.

"Parang 'yong Presidente at si Secretary (sic) Bong Go, no'ng matapos silang mag-file ng candidacy, hindi ko maintindihan ba't sila nagpunta sa isang gusali na nagtitinda ng mamahaling mga relo, sa isang mamahaling department store (Take the President and Secretary Bong Go for example, after they filed their candidacy, I don't understand why they had to go to an establishment where luxury watches are sold, in a luxury department store)," he said.

"Wala na ba kayong mga budhi, mga kaibigan? Hindi ba natin nalalaman, nahihirapan ang mga tao, pupunta pa tayo sa lugar na mararangya na ang mga nakakabili lang ay talagang mga may pera (Don't you have conscience, my friends? Are we not aware that people are suffering, yet we still go to posh places where only the rich can afford buying things)?" he added.

After his surprise filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice presidency last Saturday, October 2, Go and Duterte were spotted in a mall in Makati City and were reported visiting several luxury watch stores, while surrounded by members of Presidential Security Group.

In a statement following Gordon's tirades, Go said that he and Duterte were still working even they were in the mall.

"Mabilis lang kami dun at wala rin kaming binili bukod sa cookies dahil gusto talaga ng Pangulo na mag-ikot at maglakad-lakad. llang buwan na rin siyang hindi nakakalabas, nakakulong at puro trabaho (Our visit at the mall was quick and we did not buy anything except for cookies because the President only wanted to go for a walk and stroll. He has not been able to go out for months and been staying home and working)," Go said.

"Pati ba naman 'yong pagpunta sa mall, gagawan pa ng mailsya. Karapatan naman ng sinoman 'yon (Why does he need to put malice on the President just going to a mall? I think everyone has a right to do so)," he added.

Duterte, he said, "is excited to return to being an ordinary citizen after decades in public service".

Gordon had slammed Duterte for issuing an "unconstitutional" memorandum barring Cabinet officials from attending Senate hearings without his clearance.

This is despite a 2006 Supreme Court ruling which upheld the Senate's authority to compel the presence resource persons in inquiries in aid of legislation.

Related Tags

President Duterte Bong Go Senate blue ribbon committee Pharmally Pharmaceutical richard gordon
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