President Rodrigo Duterte “corrected” his statement that “lobby money” was behind the rejection of Regina “Gina” Lopez as environment secretary. Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Tuesday said Duterte made the clarification during the 15th Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Monday. “Sinabi lang niya na (He just said that) ‘when I said lobby it’s not necessarily money.’ Ang sinabi lang niya na lobby (He just said that lobby) is a legitimate occupation and so he simply was saying it was not necessarily financial exchange,” Abella said. On May 4, Duterte said “lobby money” worked in the Commission on Appointments’ (CA) rejection of the ad interim appointment of Lopez. READ: Duterte on Lopez rejection: Lobby money talksThe claim earned the ire of several CA members, with Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson dubbing it as a “sweeping assault.” IDL/rgaREAD: Lacson slams Duterte’s ‘sweeping assault’ on CA

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 09, 2017 06:11 UTC