Palace hits back at Sara Duterte's rebuke of Marcos actions on flood control

Malacañang on Wednesday lashed back at Vice President Sara Duterte for criticizing how President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has been handling issues of corruption and irregularities in flood control projects.

"Tanungin natin, may moral ascendancy ba ang Bise Presidente pagdating sa usapin ng corruption?" Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a briefing. 

(Let's ask, does the Vice President have moral ascendancy when it comes to matters of corruption?)

The Palace was responding to Duterte's remark that Marcos should immediately address the flood control controversy instead of waiting for the findings of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which was created to look into anomalous and ghost flood control projects. 

The Vice President also challenged the President to conduct lifestyle checks on members of the House.

Castro also said a thorough investigation could not be done in just one day, stressing that Marcos wants to observe due process. In an apparent swipe against the previous Duterte administration, she said Marcos does not believe in an extrajudicial killings-style probe. 

''Uulit-ulitin po natin, dahil paulit-ulit naman po lamang ang sinasabi na isyu ng Bise Presidente: Ang pag-iimbestiga po ay hindi po kailangang isang araw lang. Hindi po naniniwala ang Pangulo sa isang EJK-style, walang imbestigahan, libingan ang hantungan,'' Castro said.

(We will repeat, the investigation cannot be done in just one day. The President does not want an EJK-style investigation where one ends up in the cemetery.)

''Ang gusto ng Pangulo, due process. At hindi po dapat lamang na puro salita or kaya pangako. Matatandaan natin na may nangako noong nakaraang administrasyon, tatlong buwan hanggang anim na buwan ay masusugpo ang korapsyon,'' she added. 

(The President wants due process. He doesn't want mere words or promises. If you recall, someone in the past administration promised to end corruption in just three to six months.)

Castro also mentioned that former President Rodrigo Duterte even admitted in 2017 that he was corrupt.

''Inamin niyang nagnanakaw siya pero naubos na (He admitted that he stole but they've all been used up),'' she said.

Then-presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte's remark was just a joke.

Marcos has been inspecting government flood control projects after he vowed in his fourth State of the Nation Address to crack the whip on individuals who pocket kickbacks off government projects.

On July 25, the Supreme Court ruled that the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President are unconstitutional and imposed seven new rules on the filing of an impeachment case.

Proponents of impeachment complaints against Duterte have raised questions regarding the use of P625 millions in confidential funds under her watch.

Since then, the Senate, under then-Senate President Francis Escudero, archived the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President.

In accordance with the SC ruling, the soonest that a subsequent impeachment complaint can be filed is February 6 next year.

The House of Representatives, however, has asked the Supreme Court to reverse its July 25 decision, saying that the lower chamber should be allowed to perform its exclusive duty to prosecute an impeachable official, and the Senate's to try the case.

Appearing before the House committee on appropriations on Tuesday, Duterte refused to answer questions about the Office of the Vice President's use of confidential funds as this was a supposed subject of the pending impeachment complaint against her. — VDV, GMA Integrated News