Baste should be suspended? Pure gossip, says Abalos

MANILA, Philippines – Will Davao Mayor Sebastian Duterte be suspended from office?

Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte’s impending suspension had been confirmed by various sources.

Roque also cited reports that the suspension order would be enforced after President Marcos’ visit to the Davao region to distribute relief goods to farmers and fishermen affected by the El Niño phenomenon.

Duterte had previously called for the president’s resignation, but later declared that he wanted peace with the Marcos brothers.

Roque said Duterte faces suspension for criticizing the Marcos government.

Duterte and his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, also accused Marcos of drug abuse.

“Criticism and criticism are the product of the dictator,” Roque said, lamenting that criticism is forbidden under a dictator.

“The people who took care of me were nabudol. “That is all I have learned about him so far,” he added, saying that those who supported Marcos’ presidential candidacy in the 2022 elections had been deceived.

Interior Minister Benhur Abalos dismissed Roque’s claim as “pure nonsense.”

“As far as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is concerned, there is no truth in this at this point. This is chismis,” Abalos told The STAR.

The DILG is tasked with enforcing the suspension of local officials upon orders of the Office of the Ombudsman or provincial authorities.

“Can you ask Harry Roque where he got his information from and from which department? It seems like Roque is causing confusion,” Abalos added.

Ombudsman: No pending proceedings against Baste

In a text message, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said that no case against Duterte pending before his office was under investigation.

“Baste has no case before the Ombudsman, so how can we issue a preventive suspension?” said Martires.

The Ombudsman orders the preventive suspension for up to six months of officials who are under investigation for serious offences, such as serious misconduct which, if convicted, would justify dismissal from office.

A preventive suspension is usually imposed by the Ombudsman when the initial evidence against an accused public official is strong and his or her continued service in office could prejudice an ongoing investigation.

The human rights organization Amnesty International has called on the Marcos government to investigate Sebastian Duterte for drug-related killings in Davao.

The group expressed concern over Duterte’s declaration of a new war on drugs, which has claimed seven lives in less than a week. — Elizabeth Marcelo