Cayetano wants senators linked to pork barrel scam to face Senate probe

Senator Allan Peter Cayetano INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senators implicated in the P10-billion “pork barrel” scam and who now want Janet Lim-Napoles to appear in the Senate should also face the chamber and answer the allegations hurled at them, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said on Tuesday.

Cayetano specifically addressed this call to Minority Leader Juan Ponce-Enrile and Senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. after they reportedly backed moves in the Senate to subpoena Napoles.

Enrile, Estrada and Revilla have been charged with plunder at the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly funneling their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to Napoles’ alleged fake non-government orgzanizations and have since then absent in the Senate investigation of the scam.

“Kung gusto ng mga nag-iimbestiga, nina TG na humarap si Napoles, gusto rin naman pala nina Sen. Jinggoy at JPE (Enrile’s initials), di sana humarap na rina sina JPE at saka sila Jinggoy sa komite. E bakit si Napoles lang ang haharap?” Cayetano told reporters after speaking at the 2nd Philippine Professional Summit at the Manila Hotel.

(If TG and those investigating the scam want Napoles to appear and if Sen. Senator Jinggoy and JPE also want her to appear, then I hope Senators JPE and Jinggoy should also face the committee. Why should it only be Napoles?)

TG is Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee investigating the scam.

“It’s time that we settle this issue at hindi mase-settle ang issue na ito pag hindi humarap ang lahat ng dapat humarap. Pero yung ituturo mo na sya dapat humarap pero ako hindi, mali yata yun…” said the Majority Leader.

(It’s time that we settle this issue and we can’t settle this issue if all of them would not face this. But to say that she should appear but not you is wrong.)

Revilla had openly declared that he would like Napoles to appear in the Senate while Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III claimed in a radio interview that Estrada also wants her to face the pork investigation.

Under the rules though, Cayetano said his colleagues may not be compelled to attend a congressional inquiry though they can volunteer.

“Tingin ko si Janet gustong humarap din sila. E kami gustong humarap din sila (I think Janet also wants them to appear [in the Senate probe]. We also like them to face the committee),” he said.

Cayetano said he hopes the three would consider his appeal as he assured to give them due courtesy should they decide to participate in the investigation.

Asked what questions he would like to ask his three colleagues, Cayetano said: “Kilala nyo ba si Ms. Napoles? Nilagay nyo ba dyan? Tinanggap nyo ba talaga ang pera?”

Cayetano said he himself was willing to answer any questions hurled at him.

On Wednesday, the Senate was expected to decide in a caucus whether or not to subpoena Napoles.

Aside from Cayetano, the senators who want Napoles in the Senate were Guingona, Francis “Chiz” Escudero and neophyte Senators Grace Poe and JV Ejercito.