Bam shuts down Robin on use of aliases

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bam Aquino shut down an attempt by fellow impeachment court judge Sen. Robinhood Padilla to rationalize the use of fake names in the liquidation of confidential funds by citing the late senator Benigno Aquino Jr.’s historical alias.

During yesterday’s impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, Padilla sought to justify the aliases found in the Office of the Vice President’s confidential fund receipts by likening them to aliases used by historical figures and national heroes.

Ending his interjection, Padilla brought up the fake passport name used by Aquino when he returned to the Philippines from exile in 1983.

“Do you know Marcial Bonifacio? It was Benigno Aquino Jr., Ninoy. He himself had an alias,” Padilla pointed out.

Aquino, Ninoy’s nephew, took the floor to clarify the historical detail: Ninoy may have used an alias, but he never handled or liquidated confidential funds.

“It is correct that Ninoy Aquino used Marcial Bonifacio as an alias so he can come home from Boston, but he did not have confidential funds, he did not have AR (acknowledgment receipts) for confidential funds,” he said.

Earlier in the hearing, Padilla engaged private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia over the legality and historical precedent of using assumed names.

He cited historical aliases such as Dimasalang, Tikbalang, Taga-Ilog, Magdalo and others including Ka Sili, Ka Adobo, Ka Tinola, Ka Pansit, Ka Kamote and Ka Bawang.

Divinagracia clarified that under the Anti-Alias Law, using aliases is not completely prohibited, provided the real names are disclosed, adding that the country was in an official state of war during the time of the early patriots.

“Don’t we have a war with NPA? NPA have aliases,” Padilla countered, referring to the communist New People’s Army.

Divinagracia maintained the legal distinction between warfare and domestic counterinsurgency operations: “Internal armed conflict is different from war.”