VP Sara sinabihan:

TALIWAS sa pahayag ni Vice President Sara Duterte, nasa Gabinete pa umano siya ng simulan ng Kamara de Representantes ang imbestigasyon kaugnay ng importasyon ng ipinagbabawal na gamot sa bansa.

Sinabi ni Senior Deputy Speaker at Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales II na noon pang 2023 nagsimula ang imbestigasyon ng Kamara at hindi totoo ang patutsada na ang imbestigasyon ay bunsod ng pagbibitiw ni VP Duterte sa Gabinete.

“The truth of the matter is the probe started as early as early 2023, where the drug haul in Mexico, Pampanga was worth P3.6 billion. How can it be political? The VP was still in the Department of Education then,” sabi ni Gonzales.

“It just so happened that the panel stumbled upon the intertwined relationships of alleged druglords and those involved in the illegal POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations). And a whistleblower was willing to come out and spill the beans,” dagdag pa nito.

Ayon naman kay Deputy Speaker at Quezon Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez hindi personalan ang imbestigasyong isinasagawa ng Kamara.

“Trabaho lang, walang personalan ito. Part of our mandate as legislators is to ferret out the truth. Should we shirk from our sworn duty only because the husband and brother of the VP are allegedly involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs?” tanong ni Suarez.

“Then ano pa silbi namin dito in government service? I don’t think we deserve the people’s vote and trust if all we should do is stop the investigation every time the name of a big personality comes up. The truth should always prevail no matter what. The people deserve no less,” sabi pa ng kinatawan ng Quezon.

Binigyan-diin naman ni Gonzales na dapat mabigyan ng hustisya ang mga ginawan ng masama.

“The most important thing here is the hearings are conducted in a very fair manner. No witch hunts. No prejudgments. No badgering of witnesses. And documents should match or bolster oral testimonies. And I think we did all that,” giit ni Gonzales.

“I think it would be better if the VP just face the issues head on. Why can’t they just face Congress? We have already sent our invites. We will be very fair and they are also entitled to that – presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” paliwanag pa nito.

Kung wala umanong itinatago, sinabi ni Suarez na dapat ay humarap ang mga ito sa imbestigasyon ng Kongreso.

“They don’t have to hide. They don’t have to make excuses by saying these are all distractions. Face Congress if you have nothing to hide. They can settle the issues once and for all if they make declarations under oath in Congress,” sabi naman ni Suarez.