MANILA, Philippines — “How could I not honor something that I did not have knowledge about?”
Senator Panfilo Lacson posed this question Monday after House Deputy Speaker Luis Raymond Villafuerte Jr. hit the senator over his continued criticism of the lower chamber despite the supposed ceasefire between the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Villafuerte said that it would be better if the initiative for a ceasefire between the two chambers would emanate from Lacson himself.
READ: Villafuerte says no ‘ceasefire’ between House, Senate on 2020 budget
“As for Rep. Villafuerte and his claim of a ‘ceasefire,’ for once he should stop prevaricating. How could I not honor something that I did not have knowledge about? He should not put words into my mouth then comment on it himself,” Lacson said in a statement.
Lacson said that his fight is only against ‘pork’ and corruption, and not against the House and its members.
“It is never about the House and its members, even if some of them take turns in insisting otherwise,” Lacson said.
“For one, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Sid Ungab, is one of their many decent members whom Rep. Villafuerte tried to undermine by attempting to withdraw the budget measure from his committee, but held his ground and rejected his malevolent move,” he added.
The “word war” between the two chambers started when Lacson revealed that some congressmen informed him that the 22 deputy speakers of the House would get an additional allocation of P1.5 billion each.
READ: Lacson bares plan to give House deputies P1.5B each
The allegation prompted Capiz 2nd District Rep. Fredenil Castro to ask Lacson to apologize for his remarks that allegedly damaged the institution’s reputation.
Lacson refused, however, and insisted that he would not reveal his sources.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, then said that some members of the House have agreed on a “ceasefire”.
“We already agreed for a ceasefire because individual members of the Senate and individual members of the House that criticize one another does not represent the institution,” Zubiri said.
READ: House agreed on ‘pork’ word war truce — Zubiri
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