Senators bicker over pork barrel
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada: Hit me when I’m around. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Emotions that have apparently been bottled up since the start of the Senate inquiry into the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam reportedly erupted into a flood of heated words during the senators’ closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada reportedly confronted Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano during the caucus for allegedly making insinuations against him when Estrada was not around to defend himself, a source told the Inquirer.
Estrada, in a privilege speech last month and in various interviews, has complained that at the televised hearings, some senator colleagues were repeatedly asking questions of the witnesses that were meant to further implicate Estrada, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. in the pork diversion scam.
The National Bureau of Investigation last month filed plunder complaints with the Ombudsman against Estrada, Enrile and Revilla, among others, in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.
According to the source, toward the end of the caucus, Estrada said he had other matters to discuss.
“He said that there were two senators here who are using the hearings against their colleagues… that it was foul,” the source said.
Estrada was apparently referring to Cayetano and Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, the chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which is conducting the investigation.
A second source said Estrada wanted his colleagues to make their remarks against him when he was present so he could answer the attacks.
This source quoted Estrada as saying that when he criticized Cayetano in his privilege speech, he did so with the latter present so he could react if he chose to.
“(Hit) me when I’m around so I can answer,” the source quoted Estrada as saying.
The second source said Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV joined the fray and recalled the times when Estrada allegedly called him names at the height of his feud with Enrile, Estrada’s mentor and ally.
The first source said Cayetano explained that he had a certain way of asking questions of witnesses and resource persons and couldn’t change his style just because a colleague was involved.
The same source said Cayetano told Estrada that it was nothing personal.
“But no shouting occurred,” the source added. Cayetano reportedly was seen approaching Estrada after the caucus presumably to continue their discussion.
Estrada and Cayetano refused to comment on what transpired during the caucus.
The controversy over Malacañang’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which has been revealed to have been the source of extra pork awarded by the Palace to favored senators, became another bone of contention at the caucus.
Trillanes, yet another source said, confronted Sen. Francis Escudero over the alleged leak of documents identifying six senators, including Trillanes, as recipients of DAP funds in late 2011.
The source said Trillanes reportedly told Escudero, the chair of the finance committee, that he should have leaked all the related documents identifying all the senators who received DAP funds at the time.
Escudero, the source said, denied having leaked the documents.
Trillanes would not comment on the matter while calls to Escudero remained unanswered.
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