Duterte mistakenly claims Gascon isn’t a lawyer

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday mistakenly claimed that Commission on Human Rights chairperson Luis “Chito” Gascon was not a lawyer.

Gascon graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1996 and was admitted to the Bar the following year. He took his Masters in International Law at Cambridge University in England from 1996 to 1997, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Duterte made the claim while saying that Gascon was interfering in the investigations of the security forces.

“Palibhasa nga hindi nga abogado ang t—. ‘Pag may mag-ano, magpadala ng imbestigador at pati siya pumupunta, then there will be a time na ‘yung resulta ng investigation sa baba, papasok ‘yan sa opisina mo, mga report ng mga imbestigador mo,” he told reporters during an early morning interview at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The President blamed Gascon himself for the CHR getting a P1,000 approved budget for 2018 from the House of Representatives. This amount is not final yet, as the House still has to discuss this with the Senate in a bicameral meeting.

“Palibhasa nga hindi nga abogado. And if you are not sure of yourself or where you stand, you might as well just maybe shut up. Ngayon ‘yang 1,000 na binigay na ng Congress sa opisina niya, kasi galit ang Congress sa kanya,” he said.

Duterte, nonetheless, said he would look into the House’s decision because he would not want to destroy institutions. — MDM, GMA News