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PAMPANGA
Gov. Eddie Panlilio said at a press conference at the
Provincial Capitol Monday he does not think the P500,000
given to him in Malacañang on Thursday was bribe money.
“I did
not think it was bribe money, otherwise, I would not
have accepted it. And I received it in good faith,” he
said in a statement he read.
“In the
meantime, the money will be kept in a vault until we are
able to issue the proper receipt for the money to be
officially received by and deposited to the bank account
of the provincial government,” he added.
He said
if it is confirmed the money was given as donation to
the province for use in various community projects, an
official receipt will be issued and the money will be
deposited in a trust fund account.
In
Manila, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said on
Monday the Department of Budget and Management did not
release any funds for the alleged Palace payoff to
administration congressmen and some local government
officials last week.
Andaya
said in a talk with reporters his department and other
government agencies are barred from dispensing funds for
any projects because of the election ban from September
29 to November 13.
“It is
not in the budget and the DBM has no capacity to give
cash directly. We can only issue (Special Allotment
Release Orders) for projects. But it is impossible for
our department to give out this kind of cash,” he added.
He was
not at the Thursday meeting so he is not privy to the
alleged payoff, but noted that many officials
continually request the President for funds for their
projects.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who was also not in
the Thursday meeting, said, “I have no idea. I was just
surprised when I was told they (congressmen) were there.
I was not aware so I cannot make any comment.” As if in
response to Governor Panlilio’s comment, he said, “I
consider the money to have come from public funds as it
was given by Malacañang, and [that it] will be used for
a public purpose.”
Press
Secretary Ignacio Bunye had said on Sunday the
“donation” to Panlilio should be a “nonissue” since it
is meant to be put to good use. “If as Governor Ed
[said], there is nothing wrong receiving a donation
provided it is put to good use, a view reportedly shared
by the late Cardinal Sin, then this matter should be a
nonissue.”
Misamis
Occidental Gov. Loreto Leo Ocampos, president of the
League of Provinces of the
Philippines,
alleged in a text message to journalists that with the
exception of Panlilio, no other local official present
at the Thursday meeting with the President received cash
assistance from Malacañang.
“We,
leaders and members of Ulap and LPP strongly deny
allegations that we were given cash by Malacañang last
Thursday. The report that Governor Panlilio was given
money was unknown to all of us. Maybe, just maybe since
he is the Governor of Pampanga, the presidential home
province, he was given special attention,” said Ocampo.
This
statement is diametrical to Panlilio’s account. He said
that right after that meeting, he was asked to attend a
Governors’ League meeting within the Palace compound.
After the meeting, Bulacan Gov. Jonjon Mendoza informed
him that money would be distributed later.
“I asked
him what the money was for and he said it will be for
barangay projects. Jonjon said that if I were to accept
it, then he would, too,” said Panlilio, after which they
proceeded to the meeting on super regions presided over
by President Arroyo.
On
charges the presidential largesse was due to an
impending impeachment case against Mrs. Arroyo, Panlilio
said, “Finally, let me clarify that when I received the
money after the meetings I attended in Malacañang,
nobody in any way tied it with the pending impeachment
complaint against the President. In fact, in one of the
meetings I attended where the governors were in
attendance, it was agreed upon by those present that in
the matter of the impeachment, we shall let the law take
its course.”
The
issue has stirred a hornet’s nest with Senate Minority
Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. saying President Arroyo
could be held liable for the impeachable offense of
bribery if the reports are true that about 190
congressmen belonging to the administration coalition
were given P200,000 to P300,000 each during a meeting at
Malacañang in which the impeachment complaint against
her was discussed.
“If
there is one, two or three congressmen who will stand up
and admit that they received the money to give due
course to the impeachment case that was filed against
the President, that clearly smacks of a bribery for
which the official or officials concerned can be charged
in court,” said Pimentel.
Giving
due course to an impeachment complaint at this time
“innoculates”—in the words of Sen. Miriam Santiago—the
President from ouster since it is suspected the planned
impeachment complaint is defective and once given due
course and thrown out, results in a ban from any other
impeachment case in the next 12 months.
Pimentel
noted the apparent attempt of Malacañang to buy the
loyalty of the congressmen came after Anak Pawis Rep.
Crispin Beltran exposed the P1-million to P2-million
bribery offer of an administration operative, Francis
Ver, deputy secretary-general of Kabalikat ng Malayang
Pilipino, in exchange for endorsing Pulido’s impeachment
complaint, the complaint seen as defective.
Similar
bribery offers were reported by Cagayan de Oro Rep.
Rufus Rodriguez and Anak ng Mindanao Party-list Rep.
Mujib Hataman.
“It is
obvious that some of our colleagues in the House of
Representatives are just playing around with the
impeachment process. This could only besmirch the
integrity of the House because the impeachment process
should be taken seriously.”
Saying
there are indications Malacañang may be behind the weak
impeachment complaint, Pimentel said it is outrageous
that the administration is resorting to such trickery to
shield or “immunize” the President from facing an
impeachment case containing the grave offenses she has
committed that may be initiated by the opposition and
other groups that are disenchanted with her misrule.
San Juan
City mayor Joseph Victor Ejercito on Monday said that
President Arroyo has “mastered the art of buying people”
from officials of the Commission on Elections, National
Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and
politicians. “Goes to show that that she does not have
the support of the people, that is why she has to buy
people.”
Earlier
former congressman now Iloilo vice governor Rolex
Suplico claimed that administration congressmen were
given envelopes with P200,000 to P500,000 in exchange
for support for the allegedly Malacañang-backed
complaint filed by lawyer Roel Pulido.
Dagupan
Archbishop Oscar Cruz said on Sunday there are enough
reasons—one is “greed”—that is why President Arroyo
resorts to “gift-giving” to mayor, governors, and
administration congressmen,
Cruz, a
former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines, said the reason is just simple—it has
something to do with the impeachment complaint filed
against her at the House of Representatives. “These
actions are understandable for someone who is greedy for
power and has unlimited access to public funds.”
---with
Jacob Cunanan and Claudette Mocon |
