MANILA, Philippines — Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Thursday shot down Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte could overshadow the investigation into the flood control scandal.
At a briefing, Castro advised members of the media to ask Cayetano where he obtained such information. However, she quickly withdrew the remark, saying Cayetano would likely be unreachable because he is busy on social media.
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“Who told him that the focus would only be on the vice president’s impeachment trial? We have already seen how the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have been carrying out their work,” Castro said in Filipino.
Pertaining to Cayetano’s frequent presence on social media, Castro said the senator should have already seen updates on the investigations into the flood control projects.
She also stressed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Cabinet secretaries do not discuss the impeachment case during their meetings.
“So where exactly is former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano getting these stories from? Perhaps you should ask him the next time you have the chance. Although it seems he spends most of his time on Facebook, so you may not be able to reach him. But if the opportunity arises, ask him where he gets these stories,” she said in Filipino.
READ: Duterte impeachment: Parties optimistic pretrial ends on June 25
During a Facebook Live on Wednesday, Cayetano described the Marcos administration’s alleged shift in focus to Duterte’s impeachment trial as “selective justice.”
“Because if what the administration wants is for us to forget all the other corruption issues for now and focus on the impeachment first because it is important, then that would be selective justice, wouldn’t it?” he said in Filipino.
The pretrial for Duterte’s impeachment case resumed on June 22, while the trial is set to begin on July 6.
Office of the Vice President Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and confidential payment recipient Mary Grace Piattos were among the 57 witnesses listed by the prosecution panel for Duterte’s impeachment trial. /mcm
