For President Duterte, the proverbial noose is tightening around Senator Richard Gordon's neck in connection with the latter's troubles with the Commission on Audit (COA).
During his pre-recorded "Talk to the People" public briefing late Tuesday night, Nov. 9, Duterte bared that COA has ordered the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to "immediately the collection of settlement of the million liability of various former and current SBMA officials, including Senator Richard Gordon, whose liability amounts to roughly P86 million".
He said the directive was issued to current SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma.
"COA also instructed SBMA to withhold payment of salaries. Kasali 'yan. Hindi ibigay 'yung salaries ninyo 'pag hindi niyo nabayaran 'yan (That's part of it. Your salaries will be withheld if you don't pay up)."
Duterte previously said that COA issued the notice of disallowance on the P140-plus million back in November 2016. Gordon won a Senate seat in May of that year.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, served as SBMA chairman from March 13, 1992 to June 30, 1998.
In a late night briefing last September, Duterte revealed that no less than the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the veteran solon to return the P86 million in disallowed expenses. The Chief Executive in succeeding weeks have called on Gordon to pay up, often with insults thrown in.
"But what is really very --- cause a discomfort to Gordon, I would say, is that iyong liability, na-execute na 'yung properties (the liability in the execution of the properties). Ang problema ni Gordon actually iyong criminal aspect doon. Kasi ang --- 'pag may disallowance 'yan, ang labas niyan sa COA is actually malversation. Ganoon 'yan eh (Gordon's problem is actually the criminal aspect of it. Because for COA, the presence of disallowance is actually malversation. That's how it works)," said Duterte, who is a lawyer.
"So iyan ang problema niya (So that's his problem). After the execution, the Ombudsman will take over and investigate him criminally," he added.
Duterte began beefing with Gordon last August over the Blue Ribbon panel's marathon hearings on the alleged anomalies in the government's procurement of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) supplies in 2020.
"The case to us is for all intents and purposes must be completed with the COA report saying that there was no corruption and there was nothing. There was no overpricing, and yet they continued with the investigation," he said of Gordon's panel.