Drilon urged to sign Napoles subpoena

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

Senate President Franklin Drilon: Plunder charge. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Despite “obstacles,” Senator Teofisto Guingona III on Thursday said that no one could stop the Senate in its quest for truth on the P10-billion “pork barrel” scam.

Guingona made this remark as he urged Senate President Franklin Drilon to sign a subpoena for Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains behind the scam.

“As we are all aware of, the quest for truth has not been easy. We met setbacks. We faced blank walls. We were confronted by obstacles thrown along the way,” he said before suspending the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee.

“Let me assure everyone, the setbacks and obstacles have not diminished our resolve to complete the task. We are determined bring this search to its rightful conclusion. And, let me assure you, we will.”

“Hindi pa po tayo tapos. At hindi tayo matatapos hangga’t hindi natin nasasagot ang tatlong katanungan (We are not done yet. We will not stop until three questions are answered),” Guingona said.

“At hindi papayagan ng komiteng ito na hadlangan tayo ng kahit sino … sa paghahanap natin ng mga sagot (And this committee will not allow anyone to stop us from our search for answers),” he added.

After all, Guingona said that was the mandate of the committee, which he chairs.

“And we are called to fulfill that mandate,” he said.

After his speech, Guingona suspended the hearing until further notice.

In a press conference after the hearing, Guingona reiterated his call for Drilon to reconsider his decision not to sign his request to subpoena Napoles.

But if Drilon would not heed his call, Guingona said they might consider other options, which he declined to say.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero had earlier said that Drilon’s decision might only be overturned by a majority vote in the plenary.