Duterte to Gordon: Is it true you parked P88M pork barrel funds in Red Cross?

September 21 ------ President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday questioned Senator Richard Gordon if he parked P88 million of pork barrel funds in the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) which he chairs. "Wala akong nakita except for ditong kay [Janet Lim-] Napoles. Gusto kong malaman na tumanggap ka ba ng was it P88 million sa PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) mo. Ito, kung totoo lang," Duterte said during his weekly talk to the nation.

"Inindicate mo sa PDAF, pinarking mo doon yung PDAF mo so you commingled it with the money of the Congress, ay of the Red Cross, and of Congress 'yung nakuha mo," he added. "Ngayon (Now), the money is lost forever. It cannot be accounted for. If this is true. Kung totoo itong pinarking mo talaga. Ang nagsasabi nga niyan mga taga-Red Cross na meron kang nakuha inisali mo doon sa pera ng Red Cross," Duterte said. "Kung hindi totoo, patawarin na po. Pero kung totoo ito, you must answer it," he said.

GMA News Online contacted Gordon and PRC for comment but has yet to receive a statement. PDAF is the discretionary fund made available to members of Congress. Gordon was a senator from 2004 to 2010, then returned to the Senate in 2016. Napoles has been convicted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan in the misuse of the PDAF of certain lawmakers. Gordon on Friday hit back at Duterte for defending individuals being linked to the allegedly overpriced medical supplies bought by the government last year, calling him a "cheap politician."

"You are a cheap politician. . . as cheap as they come, Mr. President," Gordon said in his opening statement during the continuation of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the alleged irregularity. The senator, as chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, is leading the probe into the government's procurement of allegedly overpriced medical supplies.

Source: gmanetwork.com