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Alejano stands by claim on Bong Go shirts, slams Sara Duterte for calling him a liar


Opposition senatorial candidate Gary Alejano on Thursday slammed Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for calling him a liar after he exposed the pro-Bong Go polo shirts given to attendees of a recent barangay leaders assembly.

In a statement, Alejano stood by his claim, saying that he presented all the pieces of evidence that attendees of the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas National Assembly gave him.

"Sila mismo ay umalma sa paggamit ng isang official government activity na pinondohan ng pera ng bayan para lang mangampanya ang isang kandidato," Alejano said.

"Sino ba ang nagsasabi ng katotohanan sa lahat ng mga sumagot sa naturang isyu dahil magkakaiba ang kanilang pahayag? Mabuti sigurong mag-imbestiga muna sila bago mag-abswelto ng sino man," he added.

Alejano on Tuesday exposed that polo shirts with Go's name on them were included in the kit for the attendees in the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas National Assembly held last month.

He claimed that the registration fee for the event, which covers the expenses of the participants including the kit that contained the polo shirt, was charged from local funds as per the Department of the Interior and Local Government's Circular 2019-23.

This led Alejano to allege that Go was using public funds in his senatorial campaign, which according to him was a clear election offense.

Mayor Duterte, however, accused Alejano of lying, saying that he had no concrete evidence about his claim that government funds were used to pay for the polo shirts.

“Tulad ni Alejano, nagsisingungaling. Wala naman siyang proof na galing sa public funds ang t-shirt. Anong gagawin natin sa kanila?" she said.

Alejano said he has been accused of lying many times for pointing out the wrongdoings of the Duterte administration, but he is not one who makes promises he cannot keep.

"Hindi ako nangangako sa taumbayan na magje-jetski para ipagtanggol ang ating teritoryo. Hindi rin ako nangangako na mareresolba ko ang mga problema ng bansa in three to six months," Alejano said, alluding to promises made by Duterte's father, President Rodrigo Duterte, during his campaign for the presidency in 2016.

"Hindi ako nagbibitaw ng mga salita na hindi ko kayang panindigan. Naniniwala ako na ang mga opisyal sa gobyerno ay dapat tapat sa taumbayan," he added.

Alejano also chided Mayor Duterte for defending another administration bet, Imee Marcos, against questions on her education background after Princeton University and the University of the Philippine College of Law denied that she graduated from their institution.

“They say this is not about a college degree but honesty. Lahat sila sinungaling rin. Lahat ng tao rito sa mundo, sinungaling,” Duterte said.

But Alejano said lying should not be considered a norm in the society, and that the public should hold the candidates to the highest standards as future leaders of the country.

"Mataas dapat ang pamantayan natin sa pagpili ng mga lider. ‘Wag na ‘wag nating tatanggapin na ang mga kandidato ay pare-parehong sinungaling dahil public office is a public trust," he said.

Human rights lawyer and senatorial candidate Chel Diokno has also called out Duterte, saying that she should not trivialize issues of honesty involving her candidates.

"'Wag natin insultuhin yung ating mga botante. Maging makatarungan sana tayo sa kanila. Itaas natin ang pamantayan para sa mga gustong maglingkod sa bayan," Diokno said in a statement on Wednesday. —KBK, GMA News

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