Is Senate now under Estrada? - Gotcha

New Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office chair Rosario Lopez admitted on radio this week that she recently met with jueteng lords about her planned small-town lottery.

Isn't there a law against public officials meeting with vice lords? Shouldn't she have turned them in to the police? If she says on hindsight that she has no evidence against them, why did she call them jueteng lords in the first place?

Presidential bodyguards suddenly swooped down on the Senate Wednesday and took over security duties from the Marines. "Is the Senate now under Malacañang?" a surprised staffer asked. He found the answer to his question in the subsequent hearing of the blue-ribbon committee.

First Lady Loi Ejercito and son Mayor Jinggoy Estrada soon arrived to testify on PCSO funds. It was their show, not committee chairman Sen. Nene Pimentel's. He let them deny that they had misused P430 million in PCSO money. "How could I?" Mrs. Ejercito said, when she in fact received only P136 million for her many charities. "How could I?" Mayor Jinggoy echoed, when he got not cash but only hundreds of ambulances. Under questioning, sacked PCSO board director Sr. Christine Tan denied that she ever accused the First Family of misusing the money, just that they had cornered the bulk and left PCSO with only a fraction -- P64 million -- for its usual charities. Pimentel pounced on that statement to conclude there was nothing to investigate all along, and thus dismissed the issue.

The next day was another show, again not for Pimentel but for presidential showbiz friend Nora Aunor. The movie superstar's name had cropped up in documents obtained by the lowest but losing bidder in a firetruck deal, stating that she and actor Paquito Diaz were the winner's sponsors. Pimentel let her deny involvement in the firetruck or any other public deal for that matter. At one point, the losing bidder admitted that she had no "personal knowledge" of Aunor's role in changing the rules midstream to deprive her of the contract. With that, Pimentel cleared Aunor, and vented his ire instead on the movie villain-typecast Diaz for not attending the hearing.

The Congress staffer had opined to The STAR that the presidential bodyguards' takeover of the Senate violated the separation-of-powers rule. The blue-ribbon hearings somehow confirmed his observation. President Joseph Estrada and Pimentel overstepped the accepted decent distance between Malacañang and Congress.

Rocked by the PCSO and firetruck controversies, Estrada told Pimentel to investigate. At the same time, though, he made such public statements as calling Sr. Tan a "lying nun" and reporters of the firetruck deal "destabilizers." Pimentel would have been dense not to grasp what the President wanted from him.

Pimentel readily called for hearings on the two new cases despite his full schedule with pending matters. People at the gallery noticed that his line of questioning was designed to be nice to presidential relatives and friends. They know Pimentel not to be rude, but they didn't expect him to be fawning either.

Pimentel concluded the hearings fast. He was too quick he was even ahead of parallel executive branch actions: Estrada's orders for a public audit of PCSO funds, and a rebidding of the firetrucks.

Pimentel's speed could be attributed to over-efficiency. Before Estrada told him to step in, opposition congressmen had called for an inquiry into the PCSO issue, just that the House majority was not ready to schedule it that fast.

Twice before, Pimentel was quicker than his House counterparts: in clearing presidential cousin Celia Ejercito de Castro of involvement in the P3-million bribery attempt at Malacañang and P240-million textbook lobbying, and in dispelling talks of a secret deal between Malacañang and the Marcoses. No wonder Estrada depends on him so much.

Aprodicio Laquian now humbly confesses to letting pride -- "pasikat, yabang" -- get the better of him during that fateful press lunch. Others in Malacanang should emulate him, instead of cutting him down by trotting around his letter of apology to President Estrada. More so that press officer to whom Laquian confided fears about a fiasco, but who didn't lift a finger to avert it.

The higher an official rises to power, the more he should search his inner self for humility. Ironically, that was the Gospel reading for the day Laquian boasted about his growing influence in the President's innermost circle. The mother of James and John had approached Jesus to request that he let them sit to his left and right in his kingdom. And Jesus said to her, those who wish to sit beside the king must first humbly serve.

INTERACTION. Manuel C. Diaz, aol.com: Washington lobbyists are required to register only if they represent foreigners (Interaction, 22 Mar. 2000).

Here, Manuel, they all must register. But only two have done so since 1987, and one of them died recently.

Benjie Alvarez, BF-Paranaque: Laquian has forgotten the old Filipino saying, "Biruin mo na ang bagong gising, huwag lang ang lasing. Ngek!"

Bing Ramos, Hayward, Ca.: Laquian should go back to Canada for not knowing that in Malacañang, truth hurts.

Jane Martinez, yahoo.com: Laquian is lucky to be returning to Canada. The rest of us are stuck in the wayward jeepney driven by a drunk.

Victor Sumagaysay, marin.org: Erap muddled the issue by calling Sr. Tan a liar, saying that PCSO released only P136-M to the First Lady's projects, not P416-M as alleged. In her letter, all Sr. Tan said was that the PCSO board authorized -- not released -- P430-M.

Joey Legarda, Makati: Towards the end of GMA-7's Debate on whether Erap is fulfilling his "walang kamaganak, walang kaibigan" vow, he came in to defend his friend Dante Tan in the BW scandal. It was clear which side won.

Ermeline Vida Hila, lasaltech.com: When Erap came in late that night, was he pikon or was he drunk?

Edwin Laranang, Antioch, Ca.: Farewell to Monching Mitra. Although not destined to be President, he served our nation well.

Maneul G. Tan, Mandaluyong: One achievement this government can claim without question: never has there been a better time than now for a fool and his money to be parted. Lotto, horse races, bingo, jai alai are now played legally under one roof. All this to raise money for the poor? If a man loses his last peso on a bet and his family goes hungry, he is blamed for it. But a government that encourages him to do so, and even finds ways to make it easier for the fool to part with his money, must also have hell to pay.

Thank you, Joey Labrador, Noriel Javier, Erwin de Vera, Felipe Torres, Orlando Ramirez, Wilbur Victoria.

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