Cagayan Gov. Mamba says he was excused from House hearings

MANILA, Philippines — Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said Friday he was surprised by the detention order against him by a House of Representatives joint panel since he claimed he was excused from attending its hearings.

The House committee on public accounts and the committee on suffrage and electoral reforms on Thursday cited Mamba for contempt and later approved a motion to have him detained in the chamber for supposedly being absent in many of its hearings.

The joint panel is investigating Mamba’s alleged public spending during election season.

However, Mamba said he was already excused from attending the panel hearings.

READ: Cagayan Gov. Mamba ordered detained for failing to attend House hearing

”In-excuse po nila ako. Hindi po ako pinapatawag, wala naman akong subpoena,” said Mamba in an interview on Radyo 360.

(They excused me. They did not call me; I do not have a subpoena).

Abang Lingkod party-list Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano, chairman of the public accounts panel, previously said that the governor had not attended the hearings since they began on May 31.

Mamba said that he had attended the May 31 meeting but was excused from attending the following public hearings due to pending cases in the Supreme Court and the Commission on Election (Comelec) over the same matter of public spending during election time.

“Nag-attend nga ako noong May 31, kaya nga inexcuse na nila ako dahil sabi ko nga sub judice dahil naka-pending sa komite ito,” said Mamba.

(I attended last May 31, so they excused me because, as I said, it was due to sub judice because this was still pending in the committee.)

Mamba also defended himself against allegations of vote-buying.

“I can assure our people in the province of Cagayan, wala pong nawalang pera diyan, ni piso. So ‘yan po ay ayuda na nakarating sa mga tao, now ginagawa nilang vote-buying daw ‘yun. Sabi ng Comelec hindi vote buying ‘yan,” said Mamba in an interview on Radyo 360.

(I can assure our people in the province of Cagayan that no money was lost there, not one peso. So that was the assistance that went to the people; now, they say that is vote-buying. The Comelec said it is not vote buying.)

The governor explained that a super typhoon battered their area at the time but did not specify which one.

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