Share this
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Yahoo
Googlize this
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Villar
resign -LacsonSenator Manny Villar, Jr. will have no more reason to stay in the Senate if he continues to defy the institution to investigate the ethics complaint filed against him, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said on Tuesday.
"Ano pa ang dahilan mo para mag-stay rito if you defy the whole institution? Hindi (mo) kinikilala ang institution, so bakit ka pa mamamalagi rito? Di ba dapat umalis ka?"
[What reason do you have to stay in the Senate if you defy the whole institution? You do not recognize the institution, so why stay on? Should you not leave?] Lacson said as reported by gmanews.tv
Lacson, chairman of the ehics committee that found the complaint against Villar to be valid, dared Villar to resign after he described the committee as "kangaroo court."
The complaint was filed by Sen. Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal last year, alleging that Villar's real estate empire benefited from the P200-million double-funding of the C-5 road extension project.
"I hope that Sen. Villar will be man enough to stand in front of us, in front of his peers, and answer the allegations filed by Sen. Madrigal against him," Lacson said.
The Senate Committee on Ethics, headed by Lacson, was initially tasked to handle the complaint against Villar filed regarding the C-5 anomaly. On Monday, Villar said that he would not participate on the hearing of the committee which he called a "kangaroo court" that is "headed by his accuser and whose members are mostly presidential aspirants."
Lacson made a move to give Villar a forum to defend himself. In his privilege speech Monday, he requested the Senate to investigate the complaint, as Villar refused to recognize the right of the committee to probe him. The motion was adopted, 10-0, and will have all the senators convene as a committee to investigate the complaint.
Villar commented that giving the task to the committee of the whole is just creating a "bigger kangaroo court".
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said he was offended by the remark made by Villar, being the chairman of the committee of the whole.
On Tuesday evening, Villar met with Enrile to clarify that he was not referring to the chairman but to the membership. He even said he has confidence in Enrile's leadership.
"In fact, ‘yun lang ang consolation ‘dun, ‘yun lang ang maganda ‘dun sa (That is the only consolation, one of the good things with the) committee of the whole, that somebody like JPE (Enrile's initials) is the one chairing it," gmanews.tv quoted Villar as saying. However, the former Senate president still cannot say if he will participate in the hearing of the entire Senate on the ethics complaint against him.
Enrile accepted Villar's apology, understanding the remark was an emotional outburst. He also assured that "I have no intention to be railroading the case against a fellow senator. My function is to see to it that fairness, utmost impartiality and justice be done."
The Senate leader said that he will try to convene the committee of the whole on Thursday to hear the complaint against Villar.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
Palparan's suitability questioned
Disqualification raps welcomed retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan a week after he was proclaimed as Bantay party-list representative in Congress.
Militant leaders filed a quo warranto case against Palparan, whom they called "the Butcher," for alleged human rights violations.
Bayan Muna chairman Reynaldo Lesaca Jr., Gabriela secretary-general Cristina Palabay, Anakpawis secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr., Hustisya founding member Erlinda Cadapan, Antonio Flores of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Joselito Ustarez of the Kilusang Mayo Uno asked the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) yesterday to strike Palparan from the list of 32 new party-list congressmen, as reported by philstar.com.
The chairman of the Commission on Human Rights also expressed dismay on tPalparan's accession to the House of Representatives.
"It's unfortunate that someone who is widely perceived to be responsible for human rights violations in the form of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances during his years of active service in certain areas in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog will now be seen in the halls of Congress and have a say in legislative work", de Lima said, as quoted by inquirer.net
According to de Lima, a former election lawyer, a quo warranto case questions the suitability of a person to become a lawmaker. The filing of the case could be a recourse for those opposing his seat in Congress.
Palparan's qualification to represent the "marginalized and underrepresented sectors," was questioned", as the six militant group leaders accused him of committing "gross human rights violations" against those belonging to the marginalized sector, particularly cause-oriented groups.
In the 14-page petition, they said that Palparan's military record since he started out in 1973 was bereft of any evidence that he could qualify to be a party-list candidate. The complainants the told HRET that "Allowing retired military generals, and their police counterparts, to become nominees and representatives of party-list organizations would desecrate the hallowed intent of the party-list provision of the Constitution and violate the ruling of the SC in the case of Bagong Bayani that the party list system is reserved for the marginalized and underrepresented.", the complainants
Several activist groups declared their week-long protest actions against Palparan by burning photocopied photos of his face. "Starting on Monday we will burn 100 faces of Palparan by the gates of the House of Representatives and we will continue this expression of outrage till Friday this week," abs-cbnews.com quoted Imelda Lacandazo, vice-chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and spokesperson of Katipunan ng Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (Kasama-TK).
Palparan was included in the 29 new party-list representatives the Commission on Elections has proclaimed, following a Supreme Court ruling which increased the number of partylist seats in the House of Representatives.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
