Malacañang on Friday asserted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s authorization of the release of the tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte and Manases ‘Mans’ Carpio to the Senate impeachment court is in accordance with the law.
This comes after Carpio said ‘legal issues’ surrounding Marcos’ authorization on their tax records ‘merit judicial review.’
‘Kung siya po ay may issue patungkol po dito, karapatan naman po niya na magsampa ng anumang aksyon at tignan lang po natin kung ano ang magiging resulta nito,’ said Palace Press Officer Claire Castro in a video statement.
(If he has an issue regarding this, he has every right to take whatever legal action he deem appropriate. We’ll just have to wait and see what the outcome will be.)
The Palace official also said, ‘Karapatan niya po ‘yan. Pero sa ngayon, ang sinusunod po ng Pangulo ay proseso, batas, para sa katotohanan.’
(That is his right. But for now, what the President is following is due process and the law, in the pursuit of the truth.)
But the Palace official also issued a subtle jab at Carpio, saying if there are no anomalies in his tax records then there is nothing to be afraid of.
‘Dapat maging proud pa kayo na itong kita ninyo ay galing sa malinis,’ she also said.
Meanwhile, Castro welcomed Duterte’s remark that she has no bad blood with Marcos.
‘Nagpapatunay ito sa kanya na galing mismo na ang Pangulo ay hindi nagkaroon ng masamang pagtrato sa kanya bilang tao at bilang bise presidente,’ Castro said.
(This confirms that the President himself did not treat her poorly, either as a person or as the Vice President.)
‘Sa totoo nga kahit hindi siya nagtatrabaho at lagi siyang nasa ibang bansa, wala tayong madidinig kay Pangulo Marcos Jr. Pero bakit pinersonal ng bise presidente yung galit niya? ‘ she added.
(The truth is, even when she was not working and was always abroad, we never heard anything negative from President Marcos Jr. But why did the Vice President take his anger personally.)
The Palace official went back to the issue of Vice President allegedly hired someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Martin Romualdez.
‘Pinapalabas niya na walang kakayanan daw mamuno at ang bansa ay in chaos. Sa totoo lang, sino ba ang gumagawa ng kaguluhan?’ Castro asked.
(She is making it appear that he has no ability to lead and that the country is in chaos. The truth is, who is actually the one causing the chaos.)
‘Sino ba yung nagbabalak ng destabilization? Hindi ba ang grupo nila? Dahil gusto nilang makuha ‘yung posisyon mula kay Pangulo? At sasabihin niya na karapatan niya magsalita bilang ordinaryong citizen ng bansa?’ she continued.
(Who is the one planning destabilization? Isn’t it their group? Because they want to take the position away from the President? And then she will say that she has the right to speak as an ordinary citizen of the country?)
She said the public is free to express their opinion, just not those based on fake news.
Furthermore, former Vice President Leni Robredo’s name was also mentioned by Castro.
‘Taliwas sa sinasabi mismo ni dating bise presidente Leni Robredo. Siya mismo nagpatunay na maraming ginagawa ang gobyerno. Maraming proyekto ang Pangulo. Nandiyan ang pabahay. Pati yung pag-aayos sa matagal nang problema tungkol sa baha,’ she said.
(This is contrary to what former Vice President Leni Robredo herself said. She personally acknowledged that the government is doing a lot of work. The President has many projects. There are housing programs, as well as efforts to address the long-standing problem of flooding.)
The vice president should also ‘open her eyes’ to the initiatives of the Marcos administration, especially in her fortress in Davao.
‘Sana ibukas niya yung mata niya dahil yung pabahay na nandiyan sa Davao City, naramdaman ng mga Davaoeños. Pati na po yung pagsasaayos ngayon dahil sa patuloy na pagbaha diyan sa Davao City,’ she said.
(I hope she opens her eyes because the housing projects there in Davao City have been felt by the Davaoeños themselves. Also, the efforts being made now to address the ongoing flooding problem in Davao City are something that people are experiencing.)
‘Inaayos po yan ng gobyerno sa utos po ni Pangulo Marcos Jr. Sana huwag magbulag-bulagan,’ Castro said.