Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Senator Richard Gordon and Majority leader Vicente Sotto III did not see the need to invite President Rodrigo Duterte’s son Paolo Dutere and son-in-law Mans Carpio to show up in the hearing as demanded by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
Trillanes was pushing for Paolo and Carpio to appear in the probe of the P6.4 billion drug shipment passing through the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
This was after a witness, Mark Taguba II exposed to the investigating panel an excnahbge of text messges between him and a certain “Tita Nina” where the names “Pulong” and “Mance”, nicknames of Paolo and Carpio respectively, appeared.
The senators said that solid evidence must be presented first before Trillanes demand can be allowed.
Trillanes, unpleased with the opposition he had received, called the Blue Ribbon Committee a “committee de abswelto” and an “irrational ruling”.
In response to Trillanes statements, Gordon told him that “You’re out of order. I will not dignify your statements”, stressing that he is always acted rationally, pertaining to the hearing s in the senate.
(DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 08 / 31 / 17)