Gemma Castillo. SCREENGRAB from Senate of the Philippines Youtube
The Senate blue ribbon committee has declared a resource person out of order for questioning the quorum in the panel’s ongoing probe into the P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment from China.
“Your honor and the chairman of this honorable blue ribbon committee, I hope you won’t take it against me but as per advice of my lawyer, may we know if there’s an existence of the quorum in accordance with your rules,” Gemma Castillo, who said to be a collector at the defunct Command Center of the Bureau of Customs, told the committee on Monday.
“Kami lang ang pwedeng mag-question nun, Gemma. Hindi ka kasali dito… Saka ito suspended lang last time,” Senator Panfilo Lacson said.
“You’re out of order and you’re courting contempt,” said Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the committee.
Gordon also advised Castillo’s lawyer to study his law.
But Castillo went on and even invoked the Constitution, which she said provides that the rights of a person appearing in congressional inquiries should be respected.
“And what’s your point, we’re not respecting your rights?” an irked Gordon asked.
“As per my lawyer’s advice po, there’s no quorum daw po,” the resource person insisted.
In the end, Gordon reiterated his ruling that Castillo was out of order. /je