Pangilinan hits plunder case vs allies: 'Critics are silenced, allies go scot-free'

Party President of the Liberal Party (LP) Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan says that the former cabinet members which are currently facing plunder charges are being used to “divert” people away from the failure of the administration under President Rodrigo Duterte to improve the MRT-3 operations.

"When change is promised, the line and the wait at the MRT should be shorter, not longer. And the primary consideration should be that commuters are safe, not having their arms cut off or the coaches decoupled," Pangilinan said.

Most of the 9 former cabinet secretaries and 3 undersecretaries that are facing charges of graft and plunder are Pangilinan’s allies. To name some, we have former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, LP’s acting president, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, LP’s standard-bearer during the May 2016 elections.

Pangilinan pointed out that these 12 official’s cases “seem to be a covering-up” other cases involving the allies of Duterte who still go “scot-free” despite being involved in murder and corruption scandals.

He cited the case of Supt. Marvin Marcos, who allegedly murdered Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera, Leyte last November 2016 and was both reinstated and even promoted. Then the cases of Bureau of Immigration and Bureau of Customs officials who were tagged with extortion scandals but they were "only transferred to other government agencies even if they have not yet been cleared."

.

"Critics are silenced, allies go scot-free," the LP president pointed out.

And yet despite all of Pangilinan’s desperate claims, Transportation Undersecretary Reinier Paul Yebra denied the LP president's complaints on the charges being a diversion tactic.

"When we filed the graft complaint, we already said we are studying a plunder complaint. This was already known then so hindi po siya diversionary tactic," said Yebra.

***

Source: ABS-CBN News