Lawmakers indicted for ‘pork’ scam can remain in office—Belmonte

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.  INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the House of Representatives who will be detained because of criminal cases over kickbacks from pork barrel funds would be allowed to continue doing their job as legislators while undergoing trial, according to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

Belmonte, in a press briefing, said the House members could use Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as an example, since the latter continued to work as Senator even when he was detained for rebellion.

According to Belmonte, House rules do not provide for the automatic suspension of members who are facing criminal charges.

“They will continue to be a member,” he said. “If they are charged, they may end up in detention, but they could maybe use Trillanes as an example.”

If these lawmakers were allowed to post bail, they could continue attending sessions and hearings at the House and they would be treated like any other member of Congress, he added.

“Personally, I would not attach any kind of odium to that because I believe in our prime rule that you are innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

In the case of former president and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has been placed under hospital arrest, he noted that she has been treated the same as anybody else, even before she was detained.

He also answered in the affirmative when asked if the House members would continue to get the same benefits and entitlements.

So far, no member of the House of Representatives has been charged before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged pocketing of pork barrel funds.

But several incumbent representatives have been implicated in the controversy, although many have denied involvement in wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Belmonte said the House has been working well despite the raging controversy where the legislature has been playing a central role.

“In fact, it is functioning very well,” he said.

He noted that several crucial bills have been approved.

As for reports on the pork barrel scam, he noted that some of them only mentioned the names of lawmakers but did not provide details of their supposed participation in irregularities.

He also said the various lists of supposed conspirators in the pork barrel scam should serve as leads requiring verification and should not be deemed conclusive and proof of guilt.

“But just because someone is mentioned in the list does not mean he or she should automatically face charges. Any allegation has to have basis other than the say so of one person, he added.

“You can verify it from the [Department of Budget and Management], [Commission on Audit], you can verify it on the ground, you can verify the people mentioned who benefited. But you can’t file it before the Ombudsman until you have some kind of verification. The way it is, just because you’re on the list does not mean that you should be sent to the Ombudsman,” he said.

RELATED STORIES

42 graft raps filed vs Estrada, Enrile, Revilla, Napoles

Kap Bong Revilla delivers ‘amazing’ speech

Enrile ready to die in jail