MANILA, Philippines ? The senators are agitating for an investigation into the suspicious double allocation of P400 million in the 2008 budget for the C-5 road extension project that is being linked to Senate President Manuel Villar. But they are excluding politically influential El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde from the probe.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who was the one who exposed the congressional insertion, said the resolution for an investigation referred only to the double entry aspect of the issue.

Almost all the eight senators ? Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Benigno Aquino III, Rodolfo Biazon, Richard Gordon, Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal, Manuel Roxas and Lacson ? who signed the resolution asking the Senate to investigate how the C-5 road extension ended up being listed as two projects in the 2008 budget with an identical allocation of P200 million agreed that Velarde was a separate issue altogether.

In a text message, Aquino said the involvement of Velarde was just a ?side issue.?

?The issue of double entry should be handled first so that the investigation is focused and produces corrective action,? he said.

The issue has been caught up in the political rivalries in the Senate where at least six incumbents are widely known to harbor plans of running for President in 2010.

Legarda said she did not think Velarde had anything to do with the double entry and should not be included in the proposed inquiry.

Pimentel said the probe should perhaps focus only on ?finding out why there was double funding.?

He said the probe should focus on ?why the senators, including me, weren?t able to detect the double funding.? He also asked how the senators? technical staff did not notice the double entry.

?Did anybody get money out of it? It seems nobody did. If the accusation is that someone made money out of this, then that is something else. The one who is doing the accusation must prove that,? he said in a radio interview.

Ouster moves

The senators so far are focusing on the snowballing double-entry issue that might well result in moves to oust Villar.

But his ally, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, said the Senate President is confident that he will keep his post.

?This is an act of desperation to remove him as Senate President. It is obvious to us that they are after the Senate presidency and the committees,? said Cayetano.

Villar said he would not be surprised if there would be a move to oust him.

Jamby wants Bro. Mike probed

Madrigal, who initiated the resolution, said however that Velarde should be included in the inquiry.

?Let justice be done though [the] heavens fall. The Senate investigation should proceed without fear or favor,? she said.

Lacson, who had uncovered the suspicious budget entries, claimed that the 2.1-km C-5 road extension, part of a 42-km road improvement to connect the Coastal Road in Parañaque to the Northern Luzon Expressway, was twice allocated P200 million in the 2008 budget because it was listed as two separate projects.

The possibly irregular insertion was apparently made by the Senate panel during the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the budget bill.

Villar, who was not named by Lacson, felt alluded to and immediately called a press conference to deny that he or his property development companies had benefited from the C-5 road extension project.

He denied being responsible for the budget insertion and claimed he did not own any of the properties through which the C-5 road extension would pass.

This was disputed by crusading lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. who claimed that Brittany Corp., one of Villar?s real estate concerns, had obtained P92.3 million in compensation from the government eight years ago for 6,155 square meters of its property that was acquired for the right of way for the C-5 road extension project.

Velarde right of way

Brittany admitted having turned over the property to the C-5 project but denied receiving any payment from the government.

Velarde has been dragged into the issue because it has emerged that his Amvel Land Corp. whose property is traversed by the C-5 road extension may have gained a windfall from the project, which has been allocated P100 million for right-of-way acquisitions.

Several Amvel employees confirmed the other day that part of the Amvel property in Parañaque was acquired by the government for an undisclosed amount for the construction of the C-5 road extension between Multinational Village and SM Sucat Mall.

Velarde himself confirmed that Amvel stood to gain financially from the C-5 project but claimed that it has not received any payment because of a price dispute that is already in the courts.

Velarde is already facing a suit filed by Francisco before the Supreme Court involving another right-of-way compensation for an earlier road project, the C-5 Link Expressway and the R-1 Extension Expressway. Francisco alleged that Velarde illegally obtained P1.2 billion from the sale of his Parañaque property for the road project.

Bigger anomalies

Madrigal, who filed the resolution asking the Senate to probe the double-entry controversy, has similarly asked for an investigation into overpriced right-of-way acquisitions for road projects that she said only benefited ?subdivision developers and high-ranking government officials.?

Francisco yesterday said that road rights of way are sources of bigger irregularities than the road projects themselves as owners could conspire with government officials to overvalue the properties being acquired.

Showing copies of land titles, Francisco said that properties of Brittany Corp. in Barangay San Dionisio increased in market value because of the road extension project, appreciating in value from P1,500 per square meter in 1992, to more than P20,000 per square meter in 2003.

In a phone interview, Brittany spokesperson Nalen Galang admitted the market value of Brittany properties had appreciated because of the road project, but said this was normal. She claimed the Brittany properties in the area around the road project remain idle.

?All nearby communities, and the public in general, benefit from the road,? she said.

?I worked hard for my wealth?

?I am hurt by the allegations. My conscience is clear and I am open to any investigation. I am willing to answer any question about this. Whoever inserted that double entry should be known so my name will be cleared,? Villar said.

?Politics is the reason behind all of this and nothing else. This is the start of black propaganda against me,? said Villar who has already declared his intention to run for President in 2010.

He maintained that he did not get a single cent from the project. He said he supported the road project as it would benefit motorists. But he denied that the road extension would pass through his subdivisions.

He said he worked hard for this wealth.

?I am not ashamed that I sold shrimps in Divisoria when I was young. What is more shameful is that I am being linked to an anomaly I never did,? he said.

Review transaction

Francisco said that whether the Brittany property was paid for or not, Villar could still be liable for violating the constitutional provision prohibiting senators and congressmen from being ?directly or indirectly interested financially? in any government transaction.

?There is a need to review this transaction to know if, at any point, Villar intervened when this contract was still pending,? Francisco said.

Villar was House Speaker when Brittany Corp. sold its property to the Toll Regulatory Board, he said.