THREE officials of the Makati City government pleaded to the Senate to lift the arrest and detention order it issued against them for failure to attend its hearings on corruption allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay.
In separate letters addressed to Senator Teofisto Guingona III, Danilo Villas, head of the city’s department of environmental services, and Vissa Marie Aldon, head of human resource development and concurrent PESO manager of the city, promised to attend the next hearings of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee that recommended to cite them in contempt.
Guingona was the chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which adopted its subcommittee’s recommendations to cite Villas, Aldon and 12 other resource persons in contempt for failure to attend the latter’s hearings. The 14 were ordered arrested and detained by the Senate this Tuesday.
In his letter dated May 19, 2015, Villas said he was not involved in the “inception and even in the construction” of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building, one of the issues being investigated by the subcommittee being headed by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
“As a consequence of these hearings, a plethora of cases have been filed against the officials of the City Government of Makati. Undersigned was advised by his lawyer not to appear in these hearings. He fears that his testimony might unnecessarily incriminate him. He therefore exercised and is exercising his right against self-incrimination,” he said.
“However , the undersigned assures this honorable committee that he shall be present in the next scheduled hearing. Also, undersigned humbly reassures the honorable subcommittee that he will comply with its other mandates.”
“Undersigned, respectfully prays that the warrant of arrest issued against him be lifted,” Villas added.
Aldon, meanwhile, said she was unable to attend the Senate hearings because she was “tied up with so many things” in preparation for the National Congress of the PESO Managers Association of the Philippines of which she is the national president.
And upon the advice of her counsel, she said she was assured that she need not attend the Senate hearing pending resolution on the jurisdictional challenge raised against the subcommittee.
“Undersigned would like to apologize sincerely for her failure to attend said absences in the said two hearings subject of your said two subpoenas. She would like to assure your subcommittee and its honorable members that it was not her intention to defy or disobey the subpoenas or orders of your subcommittee,” Aldon said in her letter to Guingona dated May 18.
“Her failure to attend was not deliberate and intentional but in good faith for reasons as above-explained. She would like to assure the subcommittee of her willingness and readiness to appear in case she would be required in the succeeding hearings,”
In another letter dated May 18, Engineer Line dela Pena cited health reasons to explain her failure to attend the Senate hearings.
Dela Pena was earlier ordered arrested and detained by the chamber also for not attending the subcommittee hearings.
“My health has been unstable since September of 2014. As stated in my letter to this honorable committee dated January 28, 2015, I was confined due to sporadic diabetes and hypertension on September 9 to 12, 2014 and again on January 26-31, 2015. I had to undergo several tests and to take full rest upon order of my attending physician,” she said.
“In consideration of all the foregoing, I seek for his honor’s utmost understanding and compassion to reconsider its order of placing me in contempt and to lift the order of arrest issued against me. Please accept my commitment to attend any forthcoming proceeding of this committee,” dela Pena added.