Sen. Richard Gordon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s bid for the Senate to investigate multimillion-peso contracts awarded to a security agency owned by Solicitor General Jose Calida’s family may not be a priority of the Senate blue ribbon committee—for now.
Sen. Richard Gordon on Sunday admitted that his committee was currently swamped with work and was focusing on other pressing investigations.
“The queue [of investigations] at the blue ribbon is [so long],” Gordon said in a radio interview.
“I pity my staff. So I said, we can choose, we have the right to choose [which investigations go first],” he added.
Other priorities
He said the committee was prioritizing other investigations, like the alleged diversion of P10.6 billion in funds meant for health insurance premiums of senior citizens.
“That’s big money, the one who got the money of PhilHealth,” said Gordon.
“That’s like the Dengvaxia controversy,” Gordon added.
He made the remarks after Trillanes said he would ask the blue ribbon committee to begin its investigation of the contracts awarded to Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency Inc., which is owned by Calida’s immediate family.
The agency reportedly won 14 government contracts from August 2016 to January 2018, two of which were with the Department of Justice worth P12.4 million.
Just sue Calida
Nine other contracts were awarded after Calida assumed the post of solicitor general, the resolution filed by Trillanes said.
Gordon advised Trillanes to look for evidence against Calida and file a complaint instead.
“Can we tell Senator Trillanes, to just find evidence, give it to the National Bureau of Investigation?” Gordon said.
“Even he can file a case before the Ombudsman,” added Gordon.
Gordon had fought with Trillanes after Trillanes called the blue ribbon committee as “komite de abswelto,” or a committee that finds no fault, after it cleared former Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, the President’s son, and lawyer Manases Carpio, the President’s son-in-law of involvement in a shipment of drugs that slipped past the Bureau of Customs.
Gordon said he was not shirking on his duties as chair of the committee.