JAIL THREAT | Senators blast Duterte’s threat to jail lawmakers who will cite Cabinet officials for contempt

October 7, 2021 , 05:27 PM

By Clarist Mae Zablan, News5 Digital

(October 7, 2021) – Senators on Thursday criticized President Rodrigo Duterte’s threats to jail lawmakers who will cite his Cabinet officials for contempt, as the Upper House scrutinized the government’s anomalous medical supplies deal with an undercapitalized company.

Senator Richard Gordon, who chairs the Blue Ribbon committee investigating the questionable deals, believed the president’s threats could only be read as a reflection of his fear that the investigation on the government’s use of pandemic funds will reach his doors.

“Last night, what we saw was a wild man threatening those who seek the truth behind the massive corruption plaguing his administration. He desperately tries to hide his fear because our people are now realizing how they have been fooled all these years,” Gordon said.

“I cannot, however, allow you to intimidate me or any one of us. When you threaten to harm any member of the Senate in our performance of our sworn duties, you attack and undermine the Senate as an institution mandated to check your excesses and abuses.”

Gordon and other senators were reacting to Duterte’s veiled threat in an effort to stop legislators from looking into the P11.7 billion contract awarded to Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corporation, an undercapitalized company controlled by a group of Davao City-based Chinese businessmen.

In his latest public address, Duterte hurled tirades once again at senators, who are mulling to challenge before the Supreme Court the president’s directive to block his officials from attending Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearings, a move widely viewed by legal professionals as unconstitutional.

“Now, huwag ninyo akong sigaw-sigawan, hindi naman ninyo ako boy. Hindi naman ninyo ako subordinate. Kaya magtanong kayo nang husto kasi ‘pag hindi, titindig ako. Ngayon kung i-cite kayo in contempt ‘pag nalaman ko, ang ikulong ko ‘yung mga senador,” Duterte said on Wednesday night.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto took it as Duterte just fuming at the senators. “I’m taking it as the President is just fulminating,” he said in a statement.

Another senator, Panfilo Lacson, scoffed at the president’s remark, saying that he has no authority to arrest anyone, senator or otherwise.

“Only a court of law can issue a warrant of arrest in accordance with the rule of law or under Rule 113 of the Rules of Court. Under Section 5, even a warrantless arrest or citizen’s arrest has clearly defined circumstances,” Lacson said. “The President is a lawyer. He should know his law.”

Opposition senator, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan told Duterte not to cover up and diverge from the main topic of discussion, while calling out his moves to defend officials who are suspected of embezzling public funds while millions of Filipinos are suffering under the pandemic crisis.

“Yung masama ang asta at mas masahol pa sa hayop ang mga kilos at yung kinurakot yung bilyong pisong pondo para sa Covid ng mga naka lamborghini at porsche na mga kaibigan ng Pangulo habang milyon ang nagkakasakit at nagugutom at libulibo ang namamatay,” Pangilinan said.

Duterte’s officials have been under fire over its use of pandemic funds, such as the awarding of billions of pesos worth of contracts to Pharmally Pharmaceutical, a company with less than P600,000 starting capital. Senators discovered through inquiry that the company had ties with the president’s former economic advisor Michael Yang.

The president, who promised to fire officials with even a “whiff” of corruption, has been defensive of his officials while lambasting the Commission on Audit and lawmakers for raising flags on his administration’s spending.

(MM)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.