Nobody, not even the President of the Republic, can dictate and stop
Congress, the Senate in particular, from doing its job, Senator-elect Panfilo
“Ping” Lacson said on Friday.
Lacson issued the statement when sought for comment on President-elect
Rodrigo Duterte’s reported warning to lawmakers not stand in the way of his war
against drugs and criminality by conducting congressional investigations.
“The Congress, particularly the Senate, is not like most of the
provincial, city or municipal councils. We will conduct investigations in aid
of legislation whenever necessary, and nobody, not even the President of the
Republic, can dictate and stop us from doing our job,” he said in a text
message to reporters.
“The President should
not and cannot stand in the way of our mandated duty. We will exercise our
subpoena powers, not to mention the power to cite for contempt any person who
defies our authority under the Constitution,” the incoming senator added.
Lacson, an independent, was among those, who will reportedly join the
new “super majority” group in the Senate when the 17th Congress opens on July
25.
Duterte has reportedly told some congressmen, including incoming Speaker
Pantaleon Alvarez, not to make the mistake of conducting a congressional
inquiry on his anticrime campaign when it gets off the ground.
“Don’t investigate me. The road will end with me. The buck stops here.
We are going to have a fight,” the report quoted Duterte as saying. “I am doing
what is right, as long as it is the truth.”
Source: INQUIRER.net
Post a Comment
Post a Comment