"Here are parts of Senator Bong Go’s privilege speech."
While the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee continues its investigation on alleged overpricing of supplies needed for government's COVID-19 response, Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go apparently felt compelled to speak up and try to defend himself against "malicious intrigues and innuendos implied by some groups and even a few from this Chamber" via a privilege speech he delivered on the Senate floor last August 31.
Here's part of what he said in that speech (with Tagalog portions translated into English):
On his links with resigned DBM Undersecretary Christopher Lloyd Lao:
“Atty. Lloyd Lao did not directly report to me nor did he ever serve as my aide. He was only one of the hundreds of employees and officials in Malacañan Palace. As Special Assistant to the President, I was not involved in the day-to-day operations and management of every agency under the Office of the President. My work was limited to administrative and supervisory functions, seeing to it that the offices performed their mandates and improved their systems and processes and therefore became more efficient and effective in their work. It's not my fault that almost all of the offices under my oversight function wanted to identify with me. There were many people who tried to get close to me because they felt I was very close to the President.”
On government procurement:
“At the start of the pandemic, everyone was asking for PPEs, face masks, face shields. Even lawmakers were requesting all these for their respective areas. You know how difficult the situation was back then. Yet, the government did its best to provide. We received many complaints about the slow response by the government. But please understand that government procurement processes take time. You all know that, you've been in government for a longer time. Even before this administration, the PS-DBM (Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management) was already there. As the President said, when the pandemic started, we had nothing. Name a country that was prepared for it. There was none.”
On the fight against corruption:
“I must tell you that we are all against corruption, but in the right way, not through bullying. We all consider COVID-19 response as important. We cannot afford to fail. Lives are at stake here; we already reached 22,000 daily cases with the Delta variant. This is really frightening. But amid the big number of cases, here we are fighting. If there are people who should be charged, then file charges and send them to jail, so we can go on with our work. Under this administration, there is no grand scheme to steal, especially with the pandemic. The president and myself will not allow it.We are one with you in eradicating corruption in this country. Now, if you believe that people have committed crimes and should be punished, then file the necessary cases or give our prosecutors sufficient evidence to ensure that these people are indeed punished.”
On the conduct of the Senate hearing:
“I know this is not a judicial court but it does not take a lawyer to figure out that you cannot be judge, jury, and executioner all at the same time. A witness in court is accorded respect by the judge. If an adversarial counsel bullies a witness, the judge orders the counsel to stand down. In this hearing, it seems like basic human decency and courtesy have been forgotten…I am ready to face any investigation; I have nothing to hide. The people should know the truth, so that insinuations about Lao would stop.”
On Sen. Gordon's conflict of interest:
“It is common knowledge that the Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee is also the Chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, which in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, entered into a multi-million peso Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PhilHealth. Isn't there a conflict of interest when one of the organizations you are investigating is doing business with the same organization that you lead? In the spirit of fairness and impartiality, shouldn't the Blue Ribbon Committee chair inhibit himself from further hearing all matters involving PhilHealth?”
On close ties with Duterte:
“I promised the president that I will stand by him forever, and that's between the two of us because I love him. As long as there is no conflict of interest in my work and I do my job, you have no right to question this. I am not ashamed to support the president up to now because we share the same goal, which is to serve our fellow Filipinos. Although I am close to the president, that does not conflict with my work as a senator. In fact, I have a perfect attendance in the 2nd Regular Session, 69 out of 69. I want the public to know that I value the opportunity and privilege they have given me to be here…I will not limit myself to work within these halls. People voted for me to represent them. How will I know their needs and sentiments if I keep sitting in an airconditioned office and simply wait for something to investigate? I prefer to be close to the people whom I should serve. That's how it was in Davao even then.”
On the scope of his work:
“Some people are saying that the work I do is part of the executive, and not legislation. But aside from legislation, part of our work is representation and constituency services. Yes, we are legislators but we are also public servants. This is what I've grown accustomed to, and I realize that I am here to help the poor and serve my fellow Filipinos. Moreover, we should not just respect a co-equal branch only when it benefits us. Why question the appointing authority when this is a right given to him by the Constitution? If you have reservations on the qualifications of people in government, question it before the proper courts. Or if you want to change the qualifications, pass a law to favor what you want.”
On the appointment of people from Davao:
“In every administration, the reality is that appointments are based not only on merit but also trust, whether it’s in the capacity of the person or his character. Why do people wonder why the president appoints many people from Davao? What's wrong with that when these are people whom he trusts?”