Senate pressed to continue Drilon probe

MANILA, Philippines - Two senators have called for at least one more hearing by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on the allegedly overpriced Iloilo Convention Center (ICC), if only to hear what former Iloilo congressman Augusto Syjuco Jr. has to say in terms of evidence against Senate President Franklin Drilon.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III said the public wants a more transparent investigation and it would be in the best interest of the Senate to continue its hearings on the ICC project.

“I don’t want anyone to say: with Vice President Binay you’ve had nine hearings, and here you hold one and you are already stopping the committee,” Osmeña said.

“My stand is, in the interest of transparency, we have not seen all of the facts, we should not close this yet,” he added.

Syjuco has been invited by Blue Ribbon chairman Teofisto Guingona III to the next hearing in response to the intervention made by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

In an open letter to all the senators, Syjuco said he would reveal graft and corrupt practices of Drilon involving infrastructure projects of Iloilo.

Osmeña said the hearings could not be cut short because Guingona has decided to let Syjuco testify.

Short leash

Santiago said Syjuco should be allowed to testify out of respect for a former legislator.

However, she said Syjuco would be on a “very short leash” because the Senate should not be subjected to another dud of a testimony such as what former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada provided in last Thursday’s hearing.

“The first investigation turned out to be a dud. Everything fell down because there was no evidence,” Santiago said.

Santiago said that Syjuco should be asked to provide at least one piece of documentary evidence to show that he has something concrete to offer, before he is allowed to testify.

Santiago said the hearings could be terminated if Syjuco fails to submit anything.

While admitting that Mejorada did not offer hard evidence during his testimony, Osmeña said he raised some arguments that would merit giving him another opportunity to present his case.

Osmeña said that the committee through the issuance of subpoenas could take the documents that Mejorada said he could not secure.

Mejorada, who was fired as a consultant of Drilon, claimed that the ICC project was overpriced and accused the Senate President of plunder.

Sen. Grace Poe said that the investigations should continue if there is evidence submitted to support the claims made against the ICC and Drilon.

However, she said it would be a waste of time for the Senate to pursue another hearing if the next resource persons would be like Mejorada.

Vet witnesses

She said the Blue Ribbon committee should also vet witnesses coming forward and the evidence they submit.

“If there is a proposal for another hearing, I guess it is the responsibility of the Blue Ribbon Committee to check if there is any evidence that will be provided or if they are just wasting the time of the Senate,” Poe said.

Sen. Nancy Binay, for her part, said the hearings should continue because she is still waiting for the submission of various documents related to the construction of the ICC.

She lamented some senators’ call to terminate the investigation while refusing to do the same if the case involves opposition members.

Kid gloves

Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada accused the Senate Blue Ribbon committee of treating Drilon with kid gloves in its investigation into the ICC.

“I have monitored the proceedings in the Senate with regard to the investigation of the Iloilo Convention Center. The Blue Ribbon Committee can after all conduct a hearing that is orderly, without prejudgment, and where questions asked by senators are fair,” Estrada told reporters on the sidelines of his bail hearing at the Sandiganbayan.

On the other hand, he said there was prejudgment that he and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. are guilty of the pork barrel scam. “It’s obvious,” he said.

Estrada also expressed support for Vice President Jejomar Binay’s decision not to push through with his debate with Sen. Antonio Trillanes.

“I think that is the right move. He has nothing to gain there, everything to lose,” he said.

Double standard

Meanwhile, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) accused administration senators of double standard in conducting investigations.

UNA interim president and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco was reacting to the call of Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Trillanes for the committee to end its probe on the ICC.

Trillanes had said Mejorada admitted he has no solid evidence to prove the alleged overprice.

“Trillanes has conveniently forgotten how the panel’s so-called resource persons against Vice President Jejomar Binay bungled their testimonies but were still allowed by the senators to continue lying even under oath,” Tiangco said.

“He was keeping a blind eye because he wants to save Drilon. He might have forgotten that Renato Bondal was forced to admit that he just guessed the price of the birthday cakes, which he claimed were overpriced; and also Ernesto Mercado who has been caught lying several times,” he added.

Bondal revealed during a hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee that the cakes provided to senior citizens when Binay was Makati City mayor were overpriced. – With Michael Punongbayan, Helen Flores