Pro-Villar senators try to block Ping speech in Senate session
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/22/2008 8:36 PM
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For the second time in as many weeks, Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday took the floor in his continuing battle against Senate President Manny Villar over the latter's budget insertion for the C-5 road extension project.
Based on the Senate agenda for Monday, Lacson was scheduled to give another privilege speech after the speeches of Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile.
But Lacson was almost unable to speak after Villar’s Nacionalista partymate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, raised the issue of whether Lacson’s speech was in accordance with Senate rules.
Cayetano compared the rules of the Senate to the House of Representatives' rules, where he said lawmakers are asked what the topic of their privilege speeches would be.
Based on Senate rules, there is no provision that would require senators to disclose the topic of their privilege speeches prior to their turn at the podium during sessions.
Even before the session started, Villar ally Senator Joker Arroyo also declared he would object to yet another privilege speech from Lacson.
Senators worked out a compromise, and after more than an hour, Lacson was able to deliver his speech.
By then, Arroyo had left the session, and just as well, because Lacson’s speech turned the tables on Arroyo by reading transcripts of Arroyo’s speech 10 years ago, when Arroyo was Makati congressman and Villar was speaker of the House of Representatives.
According to the transcripts read by Lacson, Arroyo had accused Villar of violating the Constitution and the Ethical Standards Act when he did not give up ownership and control of several housing companies and a bank.
The same Villar companies were allegedly given financial accommodation by government financial institutions.
Arroyo also said then that Villar violated the anti-graft law when he authored legislation that would benefit his companies, and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) law when he converted 6,000 hectares of land into subdivisions without the necessary issuances from the Department of Agrarian Reform.
Lacson sees similarities in the issues raised by Arroyo in 1998 and those he himself raised a good 10 years after, in that Villar stood to gain personally and financially in a project he has espoused.
“The only difference is that Sen. Joker Arroyo is almost rabidly defending Villar in this case whereas in 1998, he was the one who stood on the floor on a question of personal and collective privilege, lambasting him on the floor for practically the same offense, for practically the same actions taken by the Senate president now and House speaker in 1998
Both Villar and Arroyo could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Cayetano dismissed Lacson's speech, saying the latter is engaged in "trial by publicity."
Cayetano said it would be better if Lacson said his accusations under oath and bring the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee, and not to the media.
He said it is clear Lacson is grandstanding and trying to get attention in preparation for the next elections. With reports from Lynda Jumilla and Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News
