Duterte arrest not a diversion — PCO – BusinessWorld Online
THE PALACE on Wednesday bucked accusations of Davao City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte that the government is using his father’s arrest and trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to make the public forget about supposed anomalies in this year’s national budget and the mismanagement of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“This is not a diversionary tactic,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Clarissa A. Castro told a news briefing on Wednesday, in response to claims made on Mr. Duterte’s Facebook page.
“He (Sebastian Z. Duterte) wants to show the public that his family members are victims and are being singled out.”
The incumbent Davao City Mayor had also asked the Supreme Court to declare the arrest of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte as illegal.
The tough-talking leader, who was President from 2016 to 2022, was arrested last week in Manila, marking the biggest step yet in the ICC’s probe of his alleged crimes against humanity during an anti-illegal drug crackdown that killed thousands and drew condemnation around the world.
The Hague-based tribunal has been investigating him for crimes he allegedly committed when he was Davao City mayor and during the first three years of his government, when the Philippines was still a party to ICC.
The deliberations for this year’s national budget had been criticized after lawmakers approved a zero subsidy for PhilHealth amid alleged mismanagement and failure to boost members’ benefits. This year’s spending plan also came under fire over supposed blank items consisting of more or less 13 pages. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
“We had planned to talk directly with PhilHealth representatives,” Ms. Castro said. “We already have the information, but we are not releasing it now because the current issue is about the ICC, and people might not understand if we discuss a different topic.”
Ms. Castro also reiterated the need to look into the use of the so-called confidential funds used by the office of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
