Episode description
Early on, President Rodrigo Duterte promised never to tolerate even a “whiff” of corruption in his administration.
not that senators needed to be reminded of their role under the country’s system of checks and balances.
But lately, their investigation has centered on the Commission on Audit's findings on “deficiencies” in an enormous amount of money intended for the government’s pandemic response.
Part of this was some P8.7 billion worth of government contract bagged by company with alleged ties with one of the president’s men.
Worse, the purchase of face masks and other COVID-related equipment was allegedly overpriced.
Snd so the Senate is investigating as part of its oversight function and in aid of legislation.
But in response, Duterte castigated senators and made personal attacks on Senators Richard Gordon and Panfilo Lacson.
For a change, some senators are now fighting back and reminding Duterte of their mandate under the law.
In this episode, we try make sense of this conflict between Duterte and a Senate he once controlled with relative ease.
Christian Esguerra sits down with Former Senator Serge Osmeña who served at the Senate for 18 years and used to head the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies and the Senate Committee on Energy.