On Facebook page “Radca President Elly Velez Lao Pamatong,” a July 10 post claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte called Pamatong his successor.
The post showed photos of Pamatong and Duterte side by side along with these words:
[ads2]
“Duterte to Turn Over Gov’t to Pamatong”
“Kong kaya ni ELLY PAMATONG, siya na ang successor ko!”
These words were said to be paraphrased by whoever created the poster, based on a statement that Duterte allegedly said on June 28 and as reported by TV-5.
We searched for any TV-5 or Interaksyon article concerning the issue and found this June 28 report, “Duterte twits anew speculators on health, but reminds people to back ‘constitutional’ successor.”
[ads1]
In the report, Duterte was addressing the Presidential Security Group (PSG) and mentioned how there are two claimants to his position, one being Pamatong. However, he dismissed Pamatong, called him “pretender,” and reminded the PSG that Vice President Leni Robredo is his constitutional successor.
“There is a pretender to the throne. Assuming that I die within ….pwede tomorrow, next month, there are two claimants to the presidency. Ang isa nag-organize na and he claimed that he has deposed me. Presidential candidate pamato, si Pamatong. Sabi niya nag-take over na siya. Eh ngayon, nandyan si Leni baka magkamali kayo ng kampo, ha. Dito tayo sa Konstitusyon. There is a succession there,” Duterte said.
Here’s a video of Duterte’s speech in front of the PSG:
The Pamatong FB page with the questionable post also described Pamatong as the “true 16th President of the Philippines under Article 11, Section 3 of the Constitution!”
In June 2016, Pamatong was suspended as a lawyer after he described a judge as “corrupt” and a “disgrace” to the Philippine justice system. He cannot practice the law for two years and was warned that committing the same mistake would lead to a more severe sanction.
Pamatong was disqualified from running for the presidency as he was considered a nuisance candidate in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
His claim of being Duterte’s successor is another mistaken claim, something that should not be taken seriously. No amount of paraphrasing can change President Duterte’s words when he urged the PSG to look at Robredo, not Pamatong, as his “constitutional” successor.
Sources: ( interaksyon.com , rappler.com )
[ads3]
