By Ana Rufa Padua

President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Senator Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), on September 11, Saturday,  that he [Duterte] will “totally disassociate” with Red Cross if they refuse to undergo a state audit.

“Wala akong pakialam, hindi ako magbigay ng pera sa’yo saka as far as I’m concerned, Red Cross does not exist. You can create a controversy there or crisis, I do not mind because I said I am on the right track.” Duterte said in his taped address. 

Duterte added that he would write a letter to Sen. Gordon to open the PRC’s financial records for the Commission on Audit (CoA) to scrutinize.  

Duterte also warned CoA for “dereliction of duty” should the commission continue to refuse looking into the finances of the PRC. 

“This will involve a long legal battle, but I am prepared to go into it, and demand really the accountability of Sen. Gordon and all of them in the Red Cross to account by the money that was given by the government of the Philippines for a long time,” he added.

The Philippine Red Cross earned Duterte’s attention when they questioned the purchase of allegedly overpriced anti-virus masks and face shields during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

As a response, Duterte accused Sen. Gordon of using the organization’s funds for his [Sen. Gordon] previous election campaigns and ordered CoA to investigate and audit PRC’s finances— pointing out that Gordon only used the PRC to further his political career as Gordon plans to run for vice president in the coming national elections.

In spite of Duterte’s order, CoA chairman Michael Aguinaldo said that they had no jurisdiction over the PRC’s finances as it is a non-government organization. Aguinaldo added that CoA could only look into the state medical insurer’s payments to the Red Cross for running COVID-19 tests.

On September 3, the PRC Board of Governors released a statement saying that they receive funds not from the government but “from private donations of generous individuals, corporations, and partner Red Cross and Red Crescent societies who trust in our ability to deliver life-saving services to the most vulnerable.”

They added that COVID-19 testing was the job of the government and that they “merely stepped up when there was a need that the government could not address.”

REFERENCES:

• Atienza, K. A., Ku, R. L. C., & Tan, A. N. O. (2021, September 3). CoA head says it can’t audit Red Cross as Duterte slams Gordon for leading probe on overpriced medical goods. BusinessWorld. https://www.bworldonline.com/coa-head-says-it-cant-audit-red-cross-as-duterte-slams-gordon-for-leading-probe-on-overpriced-medical-goods/
• Galvez, D. (2021a, September 3). Duterte wants COA to audit Gordon-led Philippine Red Cross. INQUIRER.Net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1482819/duterte-wants-coa-to-audit-gordon-led-red-cross-accuses-senator-of-using-funds-in-previous-election-campaigns
• Gonzales, C. (2021, September 11). Duterte threatens to stop gov’t transactions with Red Cross. Inquirer News. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1486509/duterte-threatens-to-stop-govt-transactions-with-red-cross/amp
• Punzalan, J. (2021, September 11). Duterte threatens to end transactions with Red Cross. ABS-CBN News. https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/11/21/duterte-threatens-to-end-transactions-with-red-cross

Photo Source: PTV Livestream