Deleted Duterte rant vs. ABS-CBN shows Palace can't be trusted with truth, says Kiko

The apparent deletion of portions of President Rodrigo Duterte's speech before the troops in Jolo earlier this week shows Malacañang cannot be trusted with the truth, opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan said on Friday.

Pangilinan made the remark days after an audio file of Duterte's speech showed that he mentioned how ABS-CBN had mocked him before claiming that he had dismantled the oligarchy in the country.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque in a Palace briefing said Duterte was referring not to the television network whose franchise application was denied by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises but to business leaders in control of water concessionaires.

"It's proof that we cannot trust Malacañang with the truth," Pangilinan said in a message to GMA News Online.

"Besides, no less than the President has admitted publicly that of the five things that he says, three are falsehoods. So, it should not come as a surprise," he added.

Pangilinan appeared to be referring to Duterte's speech back at the Bureau of Customs in 2017 when he  talked about some individuals in the media not being attuned to his character.

"Eh sa limang salita, dalawa lang iyong tama niyan; iyong tatlo, puro kalokohan iyan. And so, I’m just fond of doing it. Gusto ko lang tumawa, well, at the expense also of myself sometimes, people," Duterte said.

After the raw audio file surfaced, Roque still maintained that Duterte did not refer to ABS-CBN as the dismantled oligarchy.

Roque said that he was not sure whether the video posted on the government's social media sites was edited.

"Wala po ako sa Jolo so kung hindi ko alam kung ano talaga ang sinabi. Wala naman po akong kinalaman do’n sa airing ng tape," Roque said.

Asked if it was wrong for the government to edit Duterte's speech, Roque said, "Hindi naman po."

"In the first place, we’re assuming edited. Ako po, wala akong knowledge because I was not there. Kaya nga po sa trabaho ko, talagang minamabuti ko na dapat palaging kasama kay presidente, hindi lang para marinig siya kundi para makausap siya," he added. -Dona Magsino/NB, GMA News