By Jose Cielito Reganit
MANILA – Spokespersons for the House of Representatives prosecution panel on Monday challenged Vice President Sara Z. Duterte to provide evidence to her allegation that the Marcos administration should be blamed for the South Cotabato school shooting.
Duterte had issued a statement that the Marcos administration is focused on political consolidation and survival instead of protecting the public.
“But this should not be blamed on the present administration. Dahil una-una, kung magbibitaw ka ng ganyang salita, ano ang basehan mo? Ano ang iyong ebidensya (Because first, if you are going to make that kind of statement, what is your basis? What is your evidence)?” former Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers said at a press conference Monday.
Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong appealed against using the victims’ suffering for political attacks.
“Sana ’wag natin politikahin ito, ’wag natin i-exploit ang pain at pagdadalamhati ng mga biktima (Let’s not politicize this or exploit the pain and grief of the victims) by pointing to the wrong person or assigning guilt or blame to the wrong person,” he said.
He said public officials should support the ongoing investigation and the victims’ families.
Adiong also called for efforts to identify problems affecting students and urged additional funding for school security measures to help prevent similar incidents.
“We want them to be able to detect kung may problema ang kanilang mga estudyante (We want them to be able to detect if their students have problems),” he said.
He backed Barbers’ call for accusations to be supported by evidence.
“So again, this is a very serious matter and it requires a very serious discussion,” Adiong said. (PNA)
