The Philippine Online Chronicles

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was fuming at the absence of 12 senators on Tuesday that left the chamber unable to constitute a quorum on the committee report seeking to censure Sen. Manuel Villar for engaging in improper and unethical conduct as a senator and for his alleged involvement in the C-5 road extension controversy.

Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Villar and 11 senators, mostly his allies, did not attend the session. The boycott, according to Enrile, was a “maneuver” to prevent the Senate presentation of the report to the public. The report recommends that Villar return the P6.22 billion lost by the government to his corporations when the C-5 road extension was supposedly diverted in order to pass through his properties.

“We have a very sensitive matter to discuss so I suppose they are allergic to it... To subvert the Senate, to maneuver members of the Senate not to attend (the session) so that this report could not be known to the public is a disservice by this candidate for the presidency to the Filipino people that he wants to serve,” GMANews.tv quoted Enrile.

Attendees of the failed quorum were Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senators Jamby Madrigal, Manuel Roxas II, Benigno Aquino III, Francis Escudero, Rodolfo Biazon, Gregorio Honasan, and Richard Gordon.

With the exception of Villar, Senators Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Lito Lapid, most absentees had their excuses: Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. was in a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was reported to be sick, Sen. Loren Legarda was in a meeting with environment groups, Sen. Pia Cayetano met with women's groups, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. attended a fiesta, and Sen. Francis Pangilinan was on an official business. Sen. Panfilo Lacson was said to have written to Enrile regarding his nonappearance.

“Kung duwag ka at ayaw mong harapin ang katotohanan tungkol sa buhay mo, hindi ka karapat-dapat maging presidente nitong bansang ito (If you are cowardly to face this truth about your life, you have no right to become the president of this country),” Enrile warned Villar.

With only seven session days left before the Congress adjourns sine die for the May elections, Enrile received a recommendation from Roxas that the head of chamber can order arrest of the absent senators by the Senate sergeant-at-arms and the cancellation of official business privileges of the lawmakers.

Enrile consequently cautioned, “We will come to that when we have to. I hope they will not underestimate my notion of what a president of a chamber like this can do.”

However, rumors of ousting Enrile leaked when senators who signed Resolution No. 1472 refused to join the attempted coup. This ensued due to Enrile's release of the report. A senator who refused to be identified was reported to have said that Villar's camp warned the Senate President against overturning the decisions of the senators who support the acquittal of Villar.

Enrile, however, shrugged off the alleged plot, saying that he is “too old for this game. . . I don’t care if there is a coup. They could always unseat me. So what. I’m not clinging to this position,” Inquirer quoted him.

Meanwhile, NP secretary general Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said in an interview with Saksi, “Why blame the minority if there's no quorum? They are the ones maneuvering and using the Senate by coming up with a report that's full of lies, and a false conclusion in the middle of the Presidential elections.”

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