MANILA, Philippines – Inalis sa rekord ng Senate impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte ang pahayag na “tong-its” ni House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro matapos niyang ikumpara ang umano’y tatlong paglabag ng Bise Presidente sa “three hits” sa kilalang card game.
Ang pahayag na ito ni Luistro ay habang sumasagot siya sa tanong ni Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo kung ang GenCorp Industries Inc., isang asset na idineklara ni Duterte sa kanyang 2024 at 2025 statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, ay maaaring makapag-bid at makakuha ng mga kontrata sa pamahalaan mula sa Davao City Hall na pinamumunuan naman ng kanyang kapatid na si Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
“If there’s SALN already, which the Vice President herself acknowledged and admitted, that she is part of this corporation, then GenCorp should not be participating in the bidding of the City of Davao, which is headed by no less than the brother of the Vice President. This is a conflict of interest contemplated under Article 7, Section 13 of the Constitution,” sinabi ni Luistro.
“The Honorable Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian is very much correct when he said that there must be disclosure of the relationship of the merchant to any of the officials of the procuring entity, Your Honor, and I totally agree with the Honorable Senator Raffy Tulfo when he implied the three violations on the part of the Vice President: owning business. Operating a business and conflict of interest, Your Honor. In fact, kung sa larong tong it, three hits po ito,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa kabila nito ay ipinag-utos ni Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero ang pag-alis ng three hits comment ni Luistro sa impeachment proceedings record.
Batay sa Article 7 Section 13 ng Konstitusyon, sinasabi na, “The President, Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.”
Dagdag pa sa kaparehong probisyon na, “They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office.”
“How are you going to question the credibility of the document, especially if it is issued by government offices? This is with respect to PhilGEPS (Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System), in relation to the question of senator-judge Raffy Tulfo,” paliwanag ni Luistro.
Ang PhilGEPS ay ang repository ng mga kontrata ng pamahalaan.
Nauna nang sinabi ni PhilGEPS Division Chief Rendell Sopeña sa Senate impeachment court na nasa 11 kontrata na nagkakahalaga ng P7 milyon hanggang P8 milyon sa kabuuan ang ibinigay ng Davao City government sa GenCorp Industries sa ilalim ng negotiated bidding.
May ilan pa umanong ahensya ng pamahalaan ang naggawad ng nasa P35 milyong kabuuang kontrata sa GenCorp. Industries sa termino ni Duterte na may 49 kontrata ang naibigay sa kompanya.
Samantala, sinabi ni private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa na malinaw na ipinagbabawal ng Konstitusyon ang mga ito.
“The prohibition under the Constitution is direct or indirect participation in any business or financial interest. Indirect means kahit hindi derecho nakapangalan sa iyo ang shares of stock, kahit nakapangalan sa ibang tao, dahil nga indirect [ang sabi ng Constitution], ipinagbabawal ‘yan,” ani Tolosa.
“Iyon iyong kailangan tignan dito, na [kung] meron ba siyang violation roon,” dagdag pa. RNT/JGC
