One of the more explosive episodes in the Philippine Congress was the word war between Cavite Congressman Gilbert Remulla and Senator Jamby Madrigal.
Remulla is the spokesman of Villar’s Nacionalista Party while Madrigal is the complainant in the ethics case filed against Villar for allegedly benefiting from the P200-million double entry in the 2008 budget for the rehabilitation of C-5 road.
EMBED YOUTUBE JAMBY-REMULLA WORD WAR REPORT HERE...
In a week that began with the euphoria of the Pacquiao-Hatton fight that was a tad weighed down by media's sensationalized reports on swine flu, the word war between Madrigal and Remulla was an odd blip in the stream of news last week.
What sparked the word war was an allegation by Madrigal that Senator Manuel Villar met secretly with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo abroad. Her allegation was that Villar was supposed to meet with Arroyo, originally in Spain but that meeting reportedly took place in the Middle East.
The statement is loaded with insinuations and this could have been a better avenue of discourse instead of the gutter level mud-slingining played up by media.
Villar is up for investigation by the Senate Ethics committee on the strength of Jamby's complaint. The investigation could very well turn into a virtual impeachement of the senator and if the ethics committee finds that Villar had breached ethics, it could mean his expulsion from the upper chamber. That would be the end of Villar's career as a politician and that could be the end of his political ambitions, which is chiefly, to become the next Philippine President.
The insinuation could be that Villar is going to try to make a deal with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to be let off the hook. How?
The senate ethics committee chairman is Senator Panfilo Lacson, one who led the expose of Villar's alleged double entry in the national budget. And, with indications that the whole case could already be pre-judged, the findings of the committee could very well have already been written -- the hearings being only a formality.
What could save Villar's ass is if the whole investigation on Villar's double entry ends up in the lap of a committee headed by someone else.
The question is, can Malacanang prevail upon the leadership of the Senate to put Villar's case in another committee? If so, how far can the palace influence the decision of that committee?
Another question is, which other senate committee can investigate public officials?
Try the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, presently chaired by Senator Richard Gordon. If it does end up in Gordon's committee, what can we expect? Unlike Lacson, Gordon is a lawyer and probably has a better grasp of what would constitute evidence and the proper application of laws.
This will be one heck of a tough situation for Gordon. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee, unlike a real court, is not completely blind to political pressures or to the political repercussions of the reports it comes out.
I predict that the allegations will be this:
If he comes up with a committee report that is favorable to Villar, it will be because he is an administration ally and had been pressured by Malacanang.
If he comes up with a committee report that is unfavorable to Villar, it is because he is a presidentiable and the decision would be politically motivated.
During the course of the hearing, there may even be moves to unseat Gordon as chairman of the committee. As in the days before he came out with the Blue Ribbon committee report on the P 732 Million Fertilizer Fund Scam, all manner of skeletons in the closet will be dragged out and new ones will be discovered.
It was funny how Architech Jun Palofox surfaced to allege that Gordon was behind all the smuggling in Subic. Then former Congressman Dante Liban questioned the legality of Gordon holding the position of Red Cross Chairman and Senator at the same time -- as if Liban couldn't be accused of the same. And then, websites and blogs began resurfacing Felicito Payumo's allegations that Gordon had committed all kinds of irregularities in Subic when he was its Chairman.
If the whole mess lands in his committee, he'll get pressure from both Villar and Madrigal/Lacson.
Another insinuation that Madrigal could be making would be that Villar was trying to make a deal that the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission or the Office of the Ombudsman could, as usual, ignore any case that may be filed against him.
Anyway, as I've said, it could have been a better discourse but it eventually ended up as an ugly scene which could ought to have been played out in a wet market.
Remulla countered Madrigal's allegation that Villar had met with President Macapagal Arroyo by assailing her credibility, calling her "kuryente queen". In Filipino journalist-speak, “kuryente,” which is Filipino for electricity, means a news report is false or a journalist was fed the wrong information.
Madrigal shot back and accused Remulla of being a "Corruption King".
Then again, it seems any discussion with Madrigal could eventually turn into an ugly fight.
EMBED VIDEO OF JAMBY RAILING AT VILLAR DURING SENATE SESSION...
EMBED VIDEO OF JAMBY SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS SECTION 20...
Apart from Jamby's less than senatorial antics, it seems she is all too willing to support military rebels and leftists in their fight against government.
EMBED VIDEO Jamby endorsement for Antonio Trillanes...
EMBED Jamby youtube video with Joma sison, Satur Ocampo, Ka Bel, Ted Casino...
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