After a walkout and a boycott, now it’s war.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan appealed to the Senate minority Wednesday for a "ceasefire" between the fighting factions allied with Senate President Manuel Villar and Sen. Panfilo Lacson. The appeal, however, fell on deaf ears as the senators seeking to probe the alleged double appropriation of the C-5 road extension project remained on the warpath.

“Ceasefire sa corruption, never, ceasefire sa pagnanakaw, never,” Sen. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal told radio dzMM Thursday.

“Gusto n'yo ba mag-ceasefire na lang kami, 'wag na naming pag-usapan ito at tuloy-tuloy na naman ang ligaya ng mga malilikot ang kamay na hindi lang nag-i-insert, nagdo-double insert pa?” Lacson said in a separate dzMM interview.

Lacson refused to dignify Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano's tirades against him wherein Lacson was accused of resorting to “pure intrigues.”

“Hindi ko pinakinggan eh. Kais alam kong paid advertisement eh,” Lacson said, when asked if he listened to Cayetano’s statements.

Madrigal's second resolution pertaining to the case of Villar’s Brittany Corporation had already been referred to three committees -- the Blue Ribbon, Finance and Public Works.

She had sought for a Senate inquiry to determine if there was an overprice of P80 million when Villar's company charged the government for the acquisition of the right-of-way connecting Coastal Road to the South Luzon Expressway in Parañaque.

Britanny had earlier denied it received payment for the project. On the contrary, the company claimed it gave the property to the government for free.

Madrigal challenged Cayetano, being the Blue Ribbon committee chief, to inhibit himself from the investigation.

“Mag-inhibit siya dahil siya ang tumatayong abogado ni Senate President Villar,” Madrigal said.

However, Cayetano argued that if he will inhibit himself from participating in the probe, then the other senators should inhibit as well since they had already prejudged Villar as guilty when an investigation has not even started.

Malacañang meanwhile is appealing to senators not to let their squabble get in the way of the passage of the 2009 budget. With a report from Maricar Bautista, ABS-CBN News