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Duterte on barring Cabinet from Senate probe: Bring complaint to Supreme Court

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<p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE) </strong>- President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday dared the Senate to file a complaint at the Supreme Court against his order to prohibit members of the Cabinet from attending Senate investigations.</p><p>Duterte on Monday said he has issued a memorandum to prohibit the members of his Cabinet from attending the Senate investigation as resource persons, claiming that they do not have the time for it.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/05/21/duterte-tear-pharmally-but-dont-involve-govt">Duterte: &#x27;Gusutin ninyo nang husto&#x27; Pharmally, just don’t involve my people</a></li></ul><p>&quot;That&#x27;s why I want them to go to the Supreme Court. Gusto kong makita ng footage ng behavior nila during...I want it recorded in history. It&#x27;s a...&#x27;Yung pangyayari sa Senate, and how they behave badly,&quot; he said in a taped speech. </p><p>(That&#x27;s why I want them to go to the Supreme Court. I want to see the footage of their behavior...I want it recorded in history. It&#x27;s a...what&#x27;s happening in the Senate, and how they behave badly.)</p><p>&quot;Gusto kong dalhin nila sa Korte Suprema so itong ano nila, pinapa-withdraw nila &#x27;yung order ko,&quot; Duterte added.</p><p>(I want then to go to the Supreme Court to ask for the withdrawal of my order.)</p><p>Duterte also said he will not withdraw his memo and claimed the Senate started the mess.</p><p>&quot;There ain&#x27;t no way that I will withdraw it...Kayo ang nag-umpisa nitong lahat (You started everything),&quot; he said.</p><p>Duterte&#x27;s order will also affect the resolve of civil servants, which is why there could be a Constitutional crisis, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said on Tuesday night. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/06/21/ibp-urges-duterte-to-rethink-barring-cabinet-from-senate-probe">IBP urges Duterte to rethink decision to bar Cabinet from Senate probe</a></li></ul><p>The IBP has called on Duterte to heed a Supreme Court decision which said that although the Executive and the Legislative are co-equal branches of government, the former &quot;cannot frustrate the power of Congress to legislate by refusing to comply with its demands for information.&quot;</p><p>Duterte last week also ordered the country&#x27;s police and military to &quot;stay out&quot; of the Senate probe into Pharmally. </p><p>Duterte&#x27;s latest directive is part of an ongoing conflict with Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Richard Gordon, who launched an investigation into Pharmally&#x27;s transactions with government, Gordon said he does not know why Duterte still defends former economic adviser Michael Yang and former budget undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, a fraternity brother.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/01/21/duterte-to-senate-sergeant-at-arms-dont-arrest-anybody">Duterte warns police, military: Do not get involved in Senate probe on Pharmally</a></li></ul><p>Duterte has denied allegations of corruption, even saying he doesn&#x27;t care what happens to Pharmally, as long as his men do not get involved in it.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1791233" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div><br/> </div>

(UPDATE) President Rodrigo Duterte dared the Senate to file a complaint at the Supreme Court against his memo barring the Cabinet from attending probes.