President Duterte's upcoming revelations about the 2022 presidential aspirants will be backed by "vetted intelligence reports" to which only the Chief Executive would have access.
Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles gave this assurance during a virtual press conference Tuesday, Jan. 25, wherein he was asked how credible such revelations would be.
"Sinabi naman ni Pangulo kagabi na syempre (The President said last night that), as President, he has wide array of sources of information," Nograles said, referring to the "Talk to the People" public briefing that Duterte led Monday night, Jan. 24.
"Bilang Pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas, syempre marami po siyang mga sources (As the President of the Republic of the Philippines, of course he has a lot of sources), vetted intel reports and other various sources at his disposal. So abangan na lang po natin ang Pangulo sa mga further pronouncements niya about that (So let's just wait for the President's further pronouncements about that)," he said.
In the pre-taped portion of the public briefing that was aired Tuesday, Duterte announced that he would soon tell Filipinos about the alleged negative issues hounding the so-called "presidentiables".
He even gave a couple of teasers as he described one Palace bet as "too corrupt" and another as "unworthy" of the highest post in the land. The next elections will be held on May 9, 2022.
Duterte has assailed practically all of the presidential hopefuls in the past. However, he shunned poltical talk in his late night briefings during the past two months as he focused on the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the crisis caused by typhoon "Odette".
"Sinabi rin ng Pangulo kagabi na (The President also said that) it is his obligation to the people," Nograles said of Duterte's decision to talk about the presidential aspirants in the coming days.
"But ultimately, alam naman ni Pangulo na bagama’t obligasyon niya bilang Pangulo (the President knows that it's his duty as the President) to inform the people, it is the people's choice. It's up to you. Nasa taumbayan na po yun kung ano gagawin sa information na yun (It's up to the people what they will do with the information)," stressed the Cabinet Secretary.
Although a very popular president throughout his term, Duterte is in the awkward position of not having an "anointed one" in the upcoming Palace race.
Grapevine reports have indicated that Duterte had been hoping for his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run for the Palace seat, but she instead opted to vie for the vice presidency.