Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez ( File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III downplayed on Saturday House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’ “bullying” of lawmakers who would refuse to support federalism, noting that no single man controls the country’s purse.
“Style niya yan eh. Pabayaan na po natin siya,” Pimentel said in an interview with AM radio station DWIZ. “This is a free country.”
[Well, that’s his style. Let us just let him be. This is a free country.]
“Pero pagdating sa budget, eh, that is lawmaking. Mahaba na proseso ‘yan and ‘di tayo one man controls the entire budget. Hayaan naman natin si Speaker na magsalita ng gusto nang nasa-isip nya,” he added.
[When it comes to the budget, that is lawmaking. It is a long process, and no single man controls the entire budget. Let us just let the Speaker say whatever is on his mind.]
In a speech in Iloilo on Thursday, Alvarez warned lawmakers who would defy Congress efforts to shift into a federal form of government would not be given equal treatment in the budget for their districts.
“Siyempre, yung ibang probinsya ayaw nilang makisama, o ‘di zero sa budget. Ayaw ko rin, hindi ba? Alangan namang kayo kasama, ‘yung leaders nila ayaw sumama. Alangan namang pantay?” Alvarez said.
“Ako naman, hindi namimilit. Kung ayaw ‘nyong sumama, okay. Ginagalang ko ‘yun, karapatan niyo ‘yun. Pero ang sabi ko nga, igalang niyo rin ang karapatan ko para ma-zero kayo sa budget, ‘di ba?” he added.
The statement did not sit well to some lawmakers, saying that he did not own the public’s money.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago said that such threat was a “desperate move to silence opposition.”
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., the Senate President’s father, said that Alvarez’s remarks were inappropriate, noting that nobody stays in power forever.
“May hangganan ang kapangyarihan ng tao,” the older Pimentel said.
[There is always an end to a man’s power.] /atm