Drilon bullied me, Ridon charges

House Rep. Terry Ridon. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines–It wasn’t exactly a confrontation between David and Goliath, and Senate President Franklin Drilon claimed it wasn’t so.

“I deny that. As the band was noisy, and I could hardly hear, I had to speak in a loud voice to be heard,” Drilon said in a text message on Sunday.

Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon had a different take on the incident.

Ridon said he received a “dressing down” from Drilon in front of his colleagues at a dinner party hosted by Aurora Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo on Saturday.

Pet project

The diminutive youth representative said he was hoping that Drilon would not recognize him as the one who was leading calls for a congressional inquiry into Hilmarc’s Construction Corp.’s government contracts, including the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC), when the Senate President approached the table reserved for House members. The convention center, which is nearing completion for next year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, is a pet project of Drilon.

“It was awkward but I stood up along with the other congressmen when he approached us,” said Ridon.

“I was just hoping that he did not know me. But when he reached out to shake my hand, he asked my name and after I told him who I was, he went on his tirade,” said Ridon.

Based on Ridon’s account, Drilon told the lawmaker who was less than half the senator’s size: “Jesus Christ, why do you keep insulting me? What did I do to you?”

Ridon said Drilon repeatedly said this while pointing an accusing finger at him.

“It was embarrassing. I felt small in front of the Senate President. I told him that I was just doing my job as a congressman and that he should not take it personally,” said Ridon.

Ridon is demanding a public apology from Drilon, saying the bullying incident would not deter him from pursuing the probe into the ICC in the Lower House.

“We want to know if the award to Hilmarc’s was rigged since this was a negotiated contract and whether it was overpriced,” said Ridon.

Drilon should extend interparliamentary courtesy to all members of Congress whether they are “big or small” politicians, Ridon said.

Malacañang defender

The construction of the ICC was partly funded by some P200 million from Drilon’s congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and P100 million from the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), Malacañang’s version of the legislative pork barrel. The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional both the PDAF and the DAP, of which Drilon is a defender of Malacañang.

Drilon said earlier he was open to an investigation of the ICC, the contractor of which was Hilmarc’s Construction Corp., the same entity that built the allegedly overpriced P2.3-billion Makati City Hall Building II. Hilmarc’s has denied the charge.

The senator said he had nothing to do with the selection of the ICC’s contractor because the process was handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He said he was unfamiliar with Hilmarc’s then. Any questions about the cost, construction estimate and award of the contract should be addressed to the DPWH, he said.

Drilon declined to comment when asked whether he thought the ICC probe was politically motivated.

After Ridon filed the resolution seeking a House inquiry into the ICC, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also filed a resolution calling on the Senate to train its sights on other government projects constructed by Hilmarc’s.

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