House in crisis over payola scandal

The House of Representatives is now in crisis.

Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile admitted this yesterday as he expressed fears that the so-called payola issue may completely affect the efficiency of all the country's lawmakers.

This developed as one opposition congressman threatened to file libel charges against a fellow lawmaker for making accusations that Congress members had been bribed into passing the Omnibus Power Bill.

Assistant Minority Leader Prospero Pichay Jr. said he was planning to file a libel case against party-list Rep. Renato Magtubo "for his false, irresponsible and extremely damaging statements."

Pichay said Magtubo's sweeping accusation that all House members were bribed had caused immeasurable damage to every congressman and congresswoman.

"My relatives and friends have been calling me even from abroad about this controversy. After I explained to them that I am not involved, a lot of them urged me to file libel charges against Rep. Magtubo," he said.

Pichay added that Magtubo in the first place should not have made a "shotgun" accusation.

"I cannot recall anyone going around the halls of Congress soliciting support for the bill in exchange for any amount or consideration. It is highly unfair for Rep. Magtubo to cast a cloud of doubt on the whole House," he stressed.

Pichay said that just like Magtubo and 27 other minority lawmakers, he voted against the Omnibus Power Bill which is seeking to privatize the National Power Corp. However, he said no one offered or gave him P500,000, contrary to what the Sanlakas representative claimed.

"I would continue to oppose the measure because I do not believe it would reduce power rates or even rationalize the industry to make it efficient and competitive," he explained.

The country's independent power producers have issued a statement supporting the power bill, saying the legislation was needed to finally settle how the power sector should operate and deliver electricity to the people and industries.

David Tan, who heads the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association, said the government needed to finally settle policy issues and implementing rules on how they should function.

"We caution against summarily junking or delaying the approval of the Omnibus Power Bill because this will have adverse repercussions on the country's power supply and could throw us into another crippling energy crisis soon," he said.

Meanwhile, Enrile, Rep. Loreta Ann Rosales, sought the creation of an independent body to look into the bribery allegation.

The Cagayan lawmaker noted that a probe by the House ethics panel on the payola issue would surely leave the public unconvinced. "How can we congressmen do the probing when we are suspects ourselves?" he asked.

Enrile said an independent investigation was needed as soon as possible to immediately resolve the "crisis" plaguing the entire House.

Rosales, for her part, said only an independent probe would restore the people's trust in Congress.