Escudero takes steps to end Senate row

Senator Francis Escudero. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines –   Senator Francis ‘Chiz” Escudero  has initiated moves to stop the squabbling  in the Senate over  the alleged millions of pesos  given to senators  last year,   saying  it has been affecting the image of the institution.

Escudero, in a morning show on television on Monday, said that he talked to Senate President Juan Ponce- Enrile Sunday night and some other friends to put an end to the  bickering.

“I talked to Senator Enrile, I also talked to (some friends)  na matigil, para matigil na yung bangayan kasi naapektuhan na talaga ang Senado   (to stop the  squabbling  because it is really affecting the Senate),”  he said.

“Nakakalungkot na nagbabangayan sila at ang ginagamit na mga salita e personal. At ang pinag ugatan pa ng away na masama sa panlasa e pera,”  said the Senator.

The  quarrel stemmed from the  alleged  unfair  distribution of additional maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) when Enrile gave senators P1.6 million each last December except for four— Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Pia Cayetano and  Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV.

Escudero noted   how a dead person was dragged  into the  controversy  apparently referring to Enrile  who brought up an  old debt  of  Cayetano’s father, the late Senator Rene Cayetano, during a heated debate  last week  and the seeming  loss of respect to an  older person.

Cayetano and Trillanes, who had a tiff with Enrile, are the  youngest members of the Senate.