MANILA, Philippines — The Liberal Party of the Philippines (LP) and the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) condemned Sen. Robinhood Padilla over the issue of the use of aliases in government documents.
During the 19th day of the Senate impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, Padilla, serving as senator-judge, told the prosecution panel about the use of aliases by Filipino heroes, including former opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., in receipts and other documents by the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
As Padilla explained during the trial, Aquino used the alias “Marcial Bonifacio” in his passport when he returned to the Philippines in 1983, but Senator-Judge Bam Aquino rebutted Padilla, saying that his uncle never had confidential funds.
“There is no issue with them having aliases. Many of them used pseudonyms while writing, organizing, and fighting for the freedom and independence of the nation,” the party said in a Facebook post in Filipino late on Wednesday.
“But the question is: Did they hide behind their aliases in order to receive confidential funds? Did they use their aliases to sign acknowledgement receipts for public funds? Our heroes used aliases while fighting for the country, not to hide from accountability. That is the big difference,” it added.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday, ATOM said Padilla was dragging Aquino’s name into the mud.
“We were almost ready to give you credit, Senator. But apparently, you do not know the real Ninoy Aquino—or the true sacrifices he endured during the dictatorship of Marcos, Sr.,” ATOM said in Filipino.
“We were almost ready to give you credit, but then you dragged his name through the mud once again. Why would he have needed confidential funds when it was never in his character to terrorize his own people, unlike Marcos and Duterte?” they added.
The group, known for their involvement in the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, reminded Padilla of the country’s heroes, like Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, Emilio Jacinto, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, and several others, who fought for the country’s freedom.
“To compare the names used by those who received confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President with the aliases used by our heroes, such as Jose Rizal—and, of course, Ninoy Aquino, whom you dragged into this once again—only shows that you do not know Ninoy,” ATOM said.
