Speaker, 2 legislators say Aquino fairly handled pork scam cases

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.: Just right. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Leaders of the House of Representatives are satisfied with the unfolding prosecution of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada and their coaccused in the pork barrel scam case, especially with President Aquino staying on the sidelines as a neutral observer.

“Out of respect for colleagues, P-Noy avoided a personal hand but allowed the wheels of justice to roll on. Just right, l think,” Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said on Sunday.

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello said: “I think the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman have been fair, while Malacañang has tried not to have a high profile. As for swiftness, it’s been just right, rejecting early calls for a rapid process.”

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. gave credit to the President for allowing “the wheels of justice [to move] in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law.”

But Bello said the President should take a more proactive stance to ease fears that he had been coddling his allies linked to the pork barrel scam.

“I think, though, that the administration should make sure that the public sees it as equally concerned about the investigation and prosecution of people allied to it. The future of ‘daang matuwid’ is at stake,” Bello said, referring to the administration’s anticorruption campaign.

Can they go to Sona?

Belmonte and Barzaga said it was up to the Sandiganbayan whether to allow Revilla or Estrada and Enrile to attend the President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 28.

Just like the case of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is detained in a hospital on corruption and electoral fraud charges, the three senators are unlikely to be allowed to go to the Sona, Belmonte said.

“But if [Enrile’s] petition for bail on [account of] his advanced age and ailments is allowed, he could still attend,” Belmonte said.

Barzaga said that while Enrile, Estrada and Revilla would remain senators despite their indictment, it was still up to the Sandiganbayan to determine whether they could attend the Sona.

Dissatisfied

Despite the detention of Revilla and the imminent arrest of Estrada and Enrile, Bayan Muna lawmakers remain discontented with the pace and scope of the pork barrel scam prosecution.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said key allies of the President, specifically Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, remained “unscathed by any investigation.”

“As it is, only the opposition is being hit and its members are threatened of being arrested. Maybe some small fry allies of the President may also be sacrificed but not the big fish. What would truly be a milestone is when an incumbent president is jailed for plunder or even just his big-time allies,” Colmenares said.

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate cautioned the government against using the arrests of the senators to “cover up” its inability to keep in check rising prices of agricultural commodities.

“The government should keep this in mind and immediately act to lower the prices of basic goods and services. An anticorruption campaign, and a selective one at that, should not be used as an excuse for criminal negligence for higher prices,” Zarate said.–Gil C. Cabacungan