Joker Arroyo slams ‘one-sided’ Senate rules

Former senator Joker Arroyo. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Senate should re-examine how it conducts proceedings and revise its guidelines, said former Sen. Joker Arroyo, who criticized the blue ribbon committee’s hearings for being “one-sided” and having unfair rules.

A panel subcommittee is in the thick of an inquiry into alleged overprice in the P2.28-billion Makati parking building involving Mayor Junjun Binay and Vice President Jejomar Binay, the city’s former mayor.

The subcommittee’s members are scheduled to inspect the building Monday.

Arroyo, who himself used to chair the committee, which is tasked with probing malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance by public officers, said in a dzBB radio interview on Sunday that many people were dissatisfied with the Senate based on surveys.

He said the current proceedings of the committee were very different from hearings conducted before. A witness, for instance, cannot cross-examine other witnesses making derogatory statements about him, he said.

“I think they should take a good, good second look at how they conduct the proceedings now because the Senate is losing respect. Its ratings in the surveys are going down. It’s not good,” he said, adding that the Senate should change the rules to make them fair.

The Senate will invite Vice President Binay to its hearing so he could rebut the allegations against him.

Arroyo declined to comment on whether Binay, his friend, should attend or not, saying it would be up to him to decide. The former senator said he would rather comment on the procedures, which he said were one-sided.

The subcommittee’s chair, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, said Sunday that he was open to joining discussions to amend the rules, but would rather that the task be handled by the blue ribbon committee chair or the Senate president.

But until these are revised, Pimentel said he would operate within the current rules and he did not want to be distracted from the hearings on the Makati parking building.

Pimentel earlier defended the hearings, saying they were tackling issues that would help in legislating new rules, which could not be resolved by a court.

One of the things Arroyo dislikes is that witnesses and their lawyers cannot cross-examine other witnesses who make accusations against them. The counsels’ participation is limited to advising the witness of his or her legal rights.

“Imagine that, you’re accused of being a thief, but you can’t cross-examine the person claiming you are a thief,” he said.

He also questioned why the pendency of a related criminal action would not stop the committee’s hearings on the issue.

He was not in favor of the fact that a hearing could still proceed even if only two members of the 21-member committee were present.

He said the committee hearings were supposed to come up with reports, signed by the majority, but this was rarely done.

Some senators try to avoid signing committee reports, he added.

Sought for comment, Pimentel said witnesses were not allowed to cross-examine other witnesses because the Senate was not a court.

He also said the Senate hearings were not one-sided, since witnesses were allowed to elaborate on their statements and could request to do so, in case they were asked yes or no questions.