ITINANGGI ng Malacanang na ginagantihan nito si Sen. Manny Pacquiao sa pag-ungkat ni Pangulong Duterte sa P2.2 bilyon tax evasion case ng boxing champion.
“Hindi po iyan resbak. Matagal na pong kaso niya iyan sa BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue),” ani presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
“Sinasabi lang ni Presidente na, ‘Akala ko ba ikaw ay anti-corruption?’ You have to walk the talk. If you’re against corruption, bakit ikaw mismo hindi nagbabayad ng buwis? (This) is really a form of corruption dahil ikaw ay public official,” dagdag ni Roque.
Matatandaang sinabi ni Pacquiao na mas malala ang katiwalian sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Duterte.
Kaugnay nito, ipinagtanggol ng opisyal ang pagiging abala ni Duterte sa politika sa gitna ng pandemya.
“It hasn’t changed, it’s still COVID-19. Pero, what do you do? Covid-19 or not, elections are coming up. So political parties have to prepare and candidates will have to file their certificates of candidacy in the first 10 days of October,” paliwanag ni Roque.
Nitong Miyerkules ay dumalo si Duterte sa pulong ng PDP-Laban.
“Let’s just say that because he is chairman of the party, he has an interest in who the party will field as president and vice president in the 2022 elections,” dagdag pa niya. –WC
