Two senators walked out as the Senate, acting as a committee of the whole, resumed Thursday the preliminary inquiry on the ethics complaint filed against Sen. Manuel Villar Jr..

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Aquilino Pimentel Jr., both from the minority, tried to prevent the resumption of the preliminary inquiry by questioning the "revised" rules of the Ethics Committee, headed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Pimentel, who said he wanted to raise 20 points regarding the rules, was accused by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile of trying to delay the hearings.

"The chair rules there are substantial rules to govern this proceeding. If there is any defect, deficiency, mishandling or arbitrariness in handling the case, that may be raised at a proper pleading at a proper time, [which is] the judicial department of the government..." Enrile told Pimentel.

Cayetano, for his part, asked the committee of the whole to revisit Lacson's ruling that the complaint filed by Sen. Maria Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal against Villar is sufficient in form and substance.

Cayetano said he and the other members of the minority were not present when Lacson's ethics committee declared the complaint sufficient in form and in substance.

He added that the ruling should be reviewed citing the prior dismissal of accusations that Villar inserted two similar road projects into the national budget, which is the same basis of the ethics complaint.

Villar and the other members of the minority were not present at the hearing. Other senators present were Juan Miguel Zubiri, Richard Gordon, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Rodolfo Biazon , Lito Lapid, and Mar Roxas.

Dangerous silence

Lacson had advised Villar to answer the ethics complaint filed by Madrigal as he warned that it may be "a very dangerous move on his (Villar's) part not to defend himself."

"Because by then, we will just be relying on the accusations, on the allegations, on the evidence as presented by Senator Madrigal," Lacson reiterated.

The senator said that aside from the danger of being convicted of the allegations, Villar should not just snub the complaint for the simple reason that it involves corruption.

"If he fails to address this, this will linger. This may last until May 2010," Lacson said.

Lacson and Villar have both announced their intentions to run for president in 2010.

Gist of the allegations

Villar allegedly requested the realignment of the C-5 road project linking the Coastal Road and the South Luzon Expressway.

A substantial portion of the longer, realigned road—from Sucat to Quirino Ave.—is allegedly owned by the companies of the Villar family.

Madrigal’s counsel Atty. Ernesto Francisco told senators during the hearing that the original road, which is 6.3 kilometers  long, costs P2.678 billion in total. The realigned 9.7 km road, excluding the portion from Sucat road to Coastal road, has an estimated cost of P6.9 billion.

Francisco said that based on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) estimates, the Las Piñas-Parañaque link road costs P700 million. An additional P400 million was the estimated cost of the link from Las Piñas to the Coastal road, the lawyer added.

Out of the 39 properties that were affected by the road link project, 16 properties were owned by Golden Haven Memorial Park and Adelfa properties, both of which are owned by the Villar family. DPWH and the Department of Budget and Management reported that Sen. Villar allegedly collected P136,774,777.00.

Francisco said El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde was the biggest beneficiary in the original road construction plan. Of the P1.8 billion to be spent by the government, P1.2 billion has been paid to Amvel Land Development Corporation, Velarde’s real estate company.

Sufficient evidence?

Francisco said they could provide evidence that it was Villar and his wife, Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar, who asked for the realignment of the C-5 road project.

He also said that they could present more evidence, if a proper trial should ensue, that Villar and his family did benefit from the realigning the road.

Enrile said the complainants have until Saturday to submit their evidence for evaluation. The hearing would continue on Monday at 9 a.m..