House leaders threaten to arrest Imee

MANILA, Philippines - Leaders of the House of Representatives yesterday warned Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos – a staunch ally of President Duterte – that she could be arrested if she refuses to attend a congressional inquiry into anomalies involving the use of the province’s tobacco excise tax fund.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, chairman of the House committee on good government, said that on July 25, the panel will issue a subpoena to Marcos “and if she does not appear, we will be constrained to issue a warrant of arrest for her.”

Duterte, who is scheduled to deliver his second State of the Nation Address on July 24, has repeatedly stated that he owes his victory in the polls to only three governors, including Marcos, who supported him during the campaign period.

Pimentel’s committee is investigating the allegations of House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, a political rival of the Marcoses, that there was an irregular purchase in 2011 and 2012 of motor vehicles like buses and multicabs worth P66.5 million using the province’s share in the tobacco excise tax collection and without public biddings.

The House has detained six officials, whom the panel had summoned to be resource persons, since May 29. Fariñas said the “Ilocos 6” remained “evasive and uncooperative” in answering his questions on the absence of bidding, cash advances and other anomalies he accused Marcos of committing.

“You hold the key to your cells,” Fariñas told treasurer Josephine Calajate, budget officer Evangeline Tabulog, engineer Padro Agcaoili of the bids and awards committee, Eden Batulaya from the accounting office and Encarnacion Gaor and Genedine Jambaro.

Fariñas is on his third and last term as congressman while Marcos is on her last term as governor.

He told the six officials that the House could detain them until June 2019.

“So how long can (Congress) hold a person in contempt? The Supreme Court (SC) said as long as that life of the particular Congress. In this particular Congress, its life will end June 30, 2019, so these people can be held in contempt until that time,” Fariñas said. 

“I’m very confident the SC will uphold us on this matter,” the Ilocos Norte congressman said, as all of his colleagues, led by Pimentel, rejected Rep. Imelda Marcos’ plea to release the officials.