MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte should refrain from defending his “friends” tagged in the multi-billion government contracts with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. and let the investigation proceed, Senator Francis Tolentino said Wednesday. Since the start of the investigation, led by Senator Richard Gordon’s blue ribbon committee, senators have been at the receiving end of tirades coming from the President. Duterte, at one point, surmised politics may be behind the investigation, which senators have denied. But Tolentino, an ally of the President in the Senate, cited the separation of powers, saying both the executive and legislative branches of government should respect one another. “But one thing that struck my attention was that the President is used to defending people close to him, his friends.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 29, 2021 02:48 UTC