Diokno on Sara Duterte’s ‘everyone lies’ statement: ‘Panay palusot’ 

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition bet Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, running under the Otso Diretso slate, said on Thursday that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio was full of excuses on issues raised against Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial bets. 

Duterte-Carpio is the head of the regional party.

“Eto na naman tayo, panay palusot na lang ang naririnig natin sa mga manok ng administrasyon (Here we are again, all we hear are excuses from the administration bets),” Diokno said. 

He was reacting to a statement the presidential daughter made on Wednesday saying that “everyone lies” when issues were raised over slate member Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos’ academic credentials. 

“Lahat sila sinungaling. Lahat ng tao sa mundong ito [ay] sinungaling (All of them [Otso Diretso] are liars. Everyone in this world is a liar),” Duterte-Carpio told reporters covering a campaign event.

READ: Sara Duterte responds to criticism over Imee Marcos’ degree: Everyone’s a liar 

Diokno asked if Duterte-Carpio’s statement was reflective of “how low” they viewed Filipino voters. 

“Ganyan na ba kaliit ang pagtingin natin sa mga Pilipino para sabihing ayos lang ang magsinungaling?” Wag natin insultuhin yung ating mga botante (Is that how low we think of Filipinos to say that it’s fine to lie? Let’s not insult the voters),” Diokno said in a statement.

Duterte-Carpio said on Wednesday that the opposition slate allegedly lies about the administration of her father President Rodrigo Duterte. 

“Inaatake nila ang TRAIN law. Ang dami dami nilang sinasabi (they are attacking the TRAIN Law. They’re saying so much) about the administration of President Duterte, which are untrue,” she said. “So that also reflects on their honesty and credibility. So ano nang gagawin natin sa kanila (What should we do with them)?”

She also hit party-list Rep. Gary Alejano in particular, saying he has no proof on accusations that t-shirts of Hugpong candidate Christopher “Bong” Go distributed last month during the Liga ng mga Barangay convention were purchased using public funds.
 
Alejano, who is running under Otso Diretso’s slate, said he laid out all the evidence needed to prove his claim. 

“Inilatag ko lang lahat ng mga ebidensyang ipinaabot sa akin ng mga nagsipagdalo sa National Assembly ng Liga ng mga Barangay (I presented all of the evidence sent to me by those who went to the National Assembly of the Barangay League),” Alejano said in a statement.  

“Sila mismo ay umalma sa paggamit ng isang official government activity na pinondohan ng pera ng bayan para lang mangampanya ang isang kandidato (They themselves were alarmed at the use of an official government activity funded with public money to campaign for a candidate),” he added. “It’s perhaps best if they investigate before absolving anyone.” 

He also said that our standards for choosing leaders should be raised.

“Let’s not normalize lying because all candidates are supposedly liars because public office is a public trust,” Alejano said.