MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Ex-Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo countered Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin for calling ex-President Rodrigo Duterte a 鈥渙ne-man fake news factory,鈥� enumerating the reasons why the former chief executive accused President Marcos of veering toward dictatorship.
Bersamin鈥檚 remark was made after Duterte accused Marcos of going the path of being a dictator like his father and namesake Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
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According to Panelo, Bersamin鈥檚 words prove that he is 鈥渟inging a different tune now that he is a cabinet member of the present administration.鈥�
鈥淵et, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by former President Rodrigo Duterte, and upon his retirement from the judiciary, appointed to the juicy position of chairman of the Government Security Insurance System by [former president Duterte], he was singing hosannas and praises to [Duterte鈥檚] strict and equal enforcement of the laws to all citizens, high or low,鈥� said Panelo in a statement on Monday.
Panelo likewise argued that Bersamin made the 鈥渙ne-man fake news factory鈥� label without actually pointing to 鈥渁ny false information.鈥�
鈥淚t is in fact the current dispensation that has become a huge corporation of fake news,鈥� said Panelo.
To support his argument, Panelo proceeded to claim that the administration peddled the lie that the special police teams that 鈥渁ssaulted鈥� the Kingdom of Jesus Christ during the serving of a warrant against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy were unarmed.
Apart from this, he also claimed that there was an irregularity and illegality in passing the General Appropriations Bill for 2025.
鈥淭he administration has painted a rosy picture of the economy, trumpeting that we are better off today than the previous years, despite the fact of the continuing high prices of basic commodities that have pummeled the majority of masses of our people, who continue to suffer from poverty, unemployment, lack of education, inadequate health and hospital benefits and [the] absence of new infrastructure to propel this country to heights of development,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t bombards us with the false information that criminality and illegal drug trafficking have been contained when the opposite is the reality,鈥� he added.
Panelo then emphasized that a dictator doesn鈥檛 follow the Constitution and the rule of law.
鈥淰iolating and assaulting the constitutional rights of the citizens, including a religious group whose only fault is to be critical of government policies and to be expressive of their admiration and support for VP Sara and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is anathema [into] democracy,鈥� said Panelo.
Given these, Panelo said Duterte鈥檚 remark expressing his fear of another dictatorship is 鈥渦nsurprising.鈥�
鈥淲hen the powers that be do not follow constitutional processes outlined by the Constitution, like the impeachment to eliminate a leading contender to the 2028 presidential campaign, congressional hearings and passage of laws, particularly the general appropriations bill, using law enforcement agencies to file criminal charges against critics and political enemies, and impose their will that serve only their interests, or to perpetuate themselves in power鈥攁nd the head of state allows such constitutional transgressions or worse command its enforcement, such demeanor smacks of dictatorial tendencies. When freedom of speech is curtailed or a [prior] restraint to its exercise, like calling bloggers, political commentators, and podcasters to a congressional probe, which [has] a chilling and harassing effect on their persons, then the path to dictatorship has been opened,鈥� he emphasized.