Defensor: Jinggoy Estrada’s ‘protective coloration’ no defense of plunder rap

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Thursday excoriated Sen. Jinggoy Estrada for saying in the Senate on Wednesday that she and other senators should be investigated for P1.2 billion in questionable deals involving the pork barrel.

“I would like to inform Mr. Estrada, if he’s still educable, that under the rules of the Department of Budget (and Management), the responsibility of the legislators stops at the point of identifying the project plus the implementing agency,” Santiago said in a speech in a postgraduate conference of the University of the Philippines Department of Medicine at Diamond Hotel in Manila.

Already in the papers

Santiago, who is in leave from the Senate, expressed cynicism at the blue ribbon committee investigation of the PDAF scam involving businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

She said some of her colleagues, especially those who have their eyes on higher positions in the 2016 elections, were only after publicity.

“If we want to investigate, we should all apply as National Bureau of Investigation agents. An inquiry in aid of legislation means we ask the witnesses what law should be made so that this scam will not be repeated. But all that the whistle-blowers have to say are already in the papers. The public already knows what the whistle-blowers are saying in their affidavits. So why still conduct hearings,” she said.

The real story

She said that what’s happening in the televised hearings is that “each [senator makes] his own scene” and that some senators end up as “drama queens.”

“The real story is this: 2016 is the keyword. We are having elections in 2016. Vice presidential [hopefuls] in the administration like holding blue ribbon hearings because the topic will be ‘talk of the town’ and most likely be televised. They just hog the limelight and then ask these questions that are absolutely fatuous as far as I am concerned,” she said.

She referred to Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. and Estrada as possible candidates of the opposition for the vice presidency while Senators Francis Escudero III and Teofisto Guingona III are reportedly being eyed as vice presidential candidates of the administration.

“They’re wasting the people’s time in their pursuit of their vice presidential ambitions,” she added.

Meanwhile, Santiago called on Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s former chief of staff, Gigi Reyes, whom she described as her “personal friend” to turn state witness and tell all against Enrile.

Enrile’s lawyer reportedly said that the senator did not authorize Reyes to sign any paper in connection with any transaction concerning the release of money from the PDAF to the bogus nongovernment organizations run by Napoles.

As for Estrada’s ratting on the other senators for alleged misdeeds involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, Santiago said, “It’s not right that you have a shotgun on your hand and shoot everyone on sight.”

In a press conference after her speech, Santiago angrily banged her fist on the table as she blasted Estrada some more for his statement that she, too, should be investigated for irregularities involving use of the PDAF.

‘Protective coloration’

“You were the ones who got the most, then why is he now pointing at us who did nothing wrong? What is your problem? He who comes to court must come to court with clean hands,” she said, pointing out that Estrada, in his privilege speech on Wednesday, never bothered to refute the allegations of plunder lodged against him.

“Silence means consent,” Santiago said.

What was happening, she added, was “protective coloration,” a form of squid-tactic defense.

“If you throw enough mud and everyone gets mud in the face then true criminals can no longer be distinguished,” Santiago added.

COA is right

She said the Commission on Audit (COA) was correct in prioritizing the investigation of misuse of the PDAF involving Estrada, Enrile and Revilla   because in the cases of the three senators, public funds were spent on ghost projects and not mere kickbacks.

These, she said, were “blatant examples” of plunder.

Asked if she had a message for Estrada, Santiago replied, “If a sink hole decides to appear on Philippine territory, I hope he will be in the vicinity.”

In his privilege speech on Wednesday, Estrada pointed out that the COA special audit report included Santiago on the list of senators, some of whose PDAF-funded projects had questions about implementation.

Estrada said Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and former Senators Francis Pangilinan and Manny Villar were also on the list.

Santiago pointed out that COA Resolution No. 97-006 refers to the responsibility of the implementing agencies to make sure that the funds they received from the PDAF were used correctly.

“It is the implementing agency, not the senator, who bears responsibility for the project. The reason for listing the senators is to alert them that the agency is falling down on the job. If so, then the lawmakers should reprimand the agency and require full compliance. That is the intent of COA Resolution No. 97-006,” Santiago said.

Not contractor

She explained that she just chooses from the “menu” of projects listed by the DBM and identify the beneficiaries.

“I was elected as a legislator. I wasn’t elected as a [project] contractor. I do not have time to go around the archipelago [carrying] my measuring tape and [counting] nails and hammers,” she said.

Santiago said that as long as the PDAF remained in place, she would continue getting her share so she could give it to legitimate beneficiaries.

“If I don’t take my PDAF, some people will just steal it or [divide] it among themselves,” she said.

Why she’s eligible

Santiago enumerated the following reasons why she thinks Gigi Reyes was eligible as a state witness, namely, that there was “absolute necessity” for her testimony with respect to the senator, that without her testimony, no other direct evidence will be available for the prosecution to prove plunder against Enrile; that Reyes’ testimony could be substantially corroborated in its material point; that Reyes does not appear to be the most guilty; and that there was no evidence that at any time, she has been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.

According to Santiago, whether or not Enrile succeeds in transferring criminal liability to his ex-chief of staff, it appears that between the two of them there was a conspiracy.

Under the Penal Code, she explained, “a conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony, and decide to commit it.”

The basic effect of conspiracy in criminal law is that the act of one is the act of all, Santiago said.

House leader defended

In the House of Representatives, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte sided with Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales, whom Estrada accused of irregularities in the use of the PDAF, as indicated by the COA special audit report.

“I remain fully confident of the integrity and abilities of our majority leader,” Belmonte said.

Belmonte declined to comment on Estrada’s speech, except to say that the senator “did not defend himself but (merely) include others.”

But two Catholic bishops agreed with Estrada’s claim that the investigation of the pork barrel scam is biased against the opposition.

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said it was clear that allies of President Aquino had so far been spared investigation.

“That is clear from the beginning,” Arguelles said.

Like Arroyo

Pabillo said the investigation only showed that President Aquino was “no different” from former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who used the state apparatus to go after her critics.

Arguelles called on the authorities to investigate Estrada’s claim that senators who voted to convict former Chief Justice Renato Corona during his impeachment trial in 2012 were given P50 million each after the trial.—With reports from Cynthia D. Balana and Philip C. Tubeza