Pineda apologizes to Senate

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – Gov. Lilia Pineda yesterday sent her apologies to the Senate for failing to attend the hearing investigating alleged illegal gambling operators in the country.

Pineda apologized to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee headed by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III for failing to attend the hearing, saying she received her invitation rather late.

Pineda was among those invited by the Senate as resource person in its investigation over the allegations of retired archbishop Oscar Cruz naming some of the suspected jueteng operators in the country.

Her husband, Rodolfo Pineda, was named among the alleged big-time gambling lords in Central Luzon. 

Of the resource persons invited, only former Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Ferdinand Rojas II showed up at the hearing last Tuesday.

Pineda said she received the invitation from the Senate at about 1:30 p.m. last Wednesday.

The Senate sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in sending out invitations to the alleged jueteng operators.

The NBI said it sent the invitations through courier LBC.

The Senate, however, normally sends invitations directly to its resource persons.

Pineda said personnel at the provincial administrator’s office did not open the Senate invitation since it was addressed to her.

Pineda said that at the time the invitation arrived she was attending a planning conference with provincial officials in Tagaytay City.

“I came to know of the letter only on Thursday morning, but then I already had a prior commitment to be present in the inauguration and blessing of a community hospital in Mexico town,” Pineda said.

Pineda said she would consult with lawyers should the Senate invite her again as resource person on the jueteng issue.

No one among the suspected jueteng operators attended the Senate hearing.

Guingona said the invited resource persons could choose to reject the invitations. 

“It’s their choice (not to attend the hearing), that’s the choice that we gave them and we would not be offended if they exercised that choice,” he said.

“This will be the last time that you can air your side – one last time — in the spirit of transparency and fair play,” he said.

Another hearing on the issue has been set for next week.

Cruz, for his part, said the Senate should force the appearance of the suspected jueteng operators by issuing subpoenas.

“They should have sent subpoenas and not just invitations,” he said.

He said their silence or failure to appear in the Senate hearing could only mean admission on their part.

Meanwhile, the PCSO submitted a proposal to President Aquino for a gaming project to replace the Small Town Lottery (STL), Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said yesterday.

Robredo said the project would be more attractive than the STL and would be a more viable alternative to defeat jueteng.

“I think the PCSO presented this (proposal) to the President Thursday. It is a radical departure to what the STL is all about,” Robredo said.

Robredo said they are hoping to recoup the P11 billion or so revenues the government loses every year.

“It’s (government plans) serious enough in the sense you’re losing P11 billion a year,” he said.

Robredo stressed the Aquino administration is really bent on eradicating jueteng.

“We should look at it from the point of view of addressing it in the long term. The perspective of the President is it should not be a palliative solution, where you see the police just apprehend, it should be something that if we tackle it, we tackle it long term,” he said.

Robredo said the government is making the state lottery a more attractive alternative to jueteng.

“There is no doubt that when you have jueteng, you have police officers and local officials (who are on the take), but it is really difficult to prove. The direction really is providing a competitive and different alternative (to jueteng or STL),” he said. With Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan