Allies who don't criticize each other are hypocrites, Lacson tweets after Duterte taunt

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday made a social media post about how the lack of criticism between allies makes a pair of hypocrites, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte said he would like to confront critics of the government's COVID-19 vaccine procurement.

"Friends and allies who never criticize one another are neither friends nor allies. They are a pair of hypocrites pulling each other’s leg," Lacson said in a Twitter post without elaborating.

On Monday night, Duterte reiterated that the government's transactions with vaccine manufacturers did not involve graft, and that those making such insinuations is "looking for something which is not there at all."

“Mag-usap nga tayo. ‘Yong tayo lang. Kung sino nagsabi niyan, please rise and be brave enough that you’re the one. I’d like to talk to you," Duterte said.

"Tayo lang dalawa. Miski saan mo gusto, sa bahay mo para medyo maganda ang usapan o hindi sa labas kasi bawal. You can do it there in the house,” he added.

Lacson previously said that there could be corruption in the government’s procurement of Chinese firm Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine, given the “sharp differences” in the prices of the vaccine in the Philippines and other countries.

After the executive officials gave an estimate that each dose of Sinovac would only cost around P650, the senator said the Senate has probably done its share in saving billions of pesos of public funds.

"If it's true that government is now dropping the price of Sinovac vaccine from P1,847.24 per dose to only P650, the senate has probably done our share to save our people billions of pesos in the country's vaccination program," he said in a previous tweet.

Lacson later vouched for vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.'s integrity after having a meeting with him regarding the vaccine prices.

"We advised Sec. Galvez to mind his back, front, left, and right sides. He may have the best of intentions but there may be people pushing him out front to do the talking and explaining to take advantage of his credibility while pursuing their own interests," he said.

GMA News Online sought Lacson's direct comments to Duterte's recent remarks but he has yet to respond.—LDF, GMA News