Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday denied that Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga is getting orders from her family, saying she is not calling for the resignation of President Marcos.
‘I never asked him to resign. That is a pointless call. He will not resign,’ Duterte said.
Barzaga led a protest against corruption in Forbes Park, Makati on Sunday.
‘I do not control Congressman Kiko Barzaga. He is his own person. He has his own principles and he has his own free will and there is nothing wrong at all with what he is doing because as I said, we are all covered by freedom of speech and expression,’ Duterte said.
Around 300 people joined the rally, according to police.
‘Considering the personality of Congressman Barzaga, can he be handled by other people? As you can see his independence in thinking, you also see his courage, his principles,’ Duterte added.
‘All nonsense’
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro yesterday denied Duterte’s claim that Marcos wants to stay in power.
‘All talk, all accusations, no evidence, all nonsense,’ Castro said in Filipino when asked for comment on Duterte’s latest tirades against the President.
To Duterte’s assertion that the Marcos administration is doing nothing, Castro said the President has been fighting corruption, which was not done during the administration of her father.
‘What’s worse is that they even defended those who allegedly abused public funds, like in the Pharmally scandal,’ Castro said.
The Palace press officer was referring to the multibillion-peso corruption scandal involving COVID-19 pandemic supplies under the Duterte administration.
‘They are now cleaning up their mess. Don’t divert attention from the sins they committed against the people,’ she said.
Sara awaits ICC ruling on appeal
The Vice President declined to comment on the decision of the International Criminal Court after the defense team of her father former president Rodrigo Duterte filed an appeal after the ICC rejected his interim release.
The former president’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman confirmed that an appeal was filed a week ago.
The ICC has released the redacted version of the Sept. 26 decision denying the interim release request.
The Vice President was mum on the ICC using her previous statement as basis in rejecting the interim release of the former president.
‘Yes, I have a comment on that, but I really want to wait for the decision on the appeal so that we can have only one comment,’ she said in Zamboanga City.
She also belittled the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations, which showed one in two Filipinos agreed that her father should be held accountable for killings in relation to his administration’s so-called war on drugs.
‘Assuming that the data in the survey is truthful and faithful, it is not useful here in our country, because the case is not happening here in our country,’ Duterte added.
She thanked senators for passing a resolution calling for the house arrest of her father.