President Rodrigo Duterte has dropped a bomb against congressmen mostly administration allies who are allegedly involved in DPWH corruption.
In his public speech late-night Monday, December 28, Duterte publicized the names of some House lawmakers who were being investigated by the Presidential Anti Corruption Commission.
“The public should be aware that there is no hard evidence, that’s one. That it can be translated by just reading the names that they are already guilty because presumption of innocence would lie all throughout until conviction or acquittal,” said Duterte.
“Hindi ito ebidensya na ano sila. Kaya lang lumabas yung mga pangalan nila, at kailangan kong sabihin sa mga tao otherwise I’d look stupid,” the President added.
One of the names mentioned by Duterte was Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas.
Vargas is a known ally of the administration who always supports any directives from Duterte and the administration party.
One of those directives is the rejection of the ABS-CBN franchise. Although Vargas was not one of the 70 congressmen who denied the ABS-CBN franchise, his inhibition made a big statement on his personal and political stand.
Vargas was then highly criticized for choosing politics over his ties with ABS-CBN and the entertainment industry. Prior to his stint in Congress, Vargas was a former contract star of the Kapamilya network. His showbiz career was even his stepping stone to politics.
That’s why many netizens were disappointed and aghast when Vargas did not vote in favor of ABS-CBN but instead inhibited from the voting.
Meanwhile, Vargas in a statement tried to clear his name saying, Duterte himself said that there is still no solid evidence against the lawmakers. Vargas also made sure that he will be able to clear his name n the future.
“The President himself stated ‘there is no solid evidence’ and ‘mentioning of names is not an indictment’. I am certain that I will be cleared,” he said in a statement.
Is this Vargas’ karma for denying support for his former network ABS-CBN? Let’s wait and see how this story continues to unfold.
