By Brian Campued
Malacañang on Friday refuted claims that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has direct knowledge on the alleged kickbacks received by high-ranking officials from anomalous flood control projects, stressing that the President firmly pushes for accountability and transparency in the issue.
“[A]ng anumang pinapahid na isyu ng korapsiyon sa Pangulo ay atin pong pinasisinungalingan,” said Palace Press Officer and Usec. Claire Castro when asked for a comment on the supposed exchange of text messages between Marcos Jr. and former Presidential Legislative Liaison Office chief Adrian Bersamin.
“Nakatuon po ngayon ang Pangulo sa pagtatrabaho para paunlarin ang ating bansa. Ang anumang paninira nang walang anumang basehan ay hindi dapat [nagagamit] or magamit na armas para pahinain ang tiwala ng taumbayan sa ating gobyerno,” Castro emphasized.
Castro said the Malacañang cannot respond definitively to reports about the allegations made against the President as no actual proof of the supposed communications has been presented.
“Hindi po tayo makakapagbigay muli ng anumang categorical na answer diyan hangga’t wala pa po tayong nakikitang anuman,” she continued.
Asked whether former presidential appointees should publicly address the issue, Castro said, “Hindi po natin po mapipilit kung sinuman ang gustong magsalita at ayaw magsalita, basta po ang Pangulo, isinususog niya po ang accountability at transparency.”
She likewise said that calls by some House members for the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate the alleged messages are “just their opinion.”
“[K]ung anuman po ang dapat na imbestigahan, iyan po ay ibinibigay na po sa kamay ng Ombudsman, DOJ (Department of Justice) at ng ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure),” she added.
-jpv
