Senate subcommittee junks Binay challenge anew

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee junked anew the jurisdictional challenges filed before its ongoing investigation on the Makati City Hall 2 parking building “for lack of merit.”

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chairman of the subcommittee, immediately ruled on the issue when the body resumed its hearing Wednesday morning.

Pimentel said the jurisdictional challenges raised by Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay and other individuals “are  all  denied for lack of merit.”

The senator maintained that the panel has jurisdiction over “all legislative matters relating to, including investigation of, malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office by officers and employees of the government, its branches, agencies, subdivisions and instrumentalities.”

He also pointed out that the mayor never raised any challenge to the jurisdiction of the subcommittee when he first appeared before it last August 20, 2014.

Binay even “made” all department heads of the city government attend the past hearings of the subcommittee, said the senator.

“The jurisdictional challenge should have been brought at the earliest opportunity, as in fact according to the Rules of the Blue Ribbon Committee, a jurisdictional challenge must be raised and resolved before proceeding with the inquiry,” Pimentel said.

“It is also the personal opinion of the chairman of this subcommittee that the jurisdictional challenge may only be raised by a member of the committee. It cannot be raised by a resource person and certainly not by any department head who is not even the subject of any investigation of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance,” he added.

The body had earlier junked the same petition filed by Mayor Binay, but his camp appealed the decision before the main blue ribbon committee being headed by Senator Teofisto Guingona III.

Saying the powers of the subcommittee were “plenary” or complete, Guingona referred back the appeal to Pimentel’s panel for final ruling.

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Originally posted: 10:18 am | Wednesday, October 8th, 2014