E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
A circus it was not
Sunday, 01 19, 2003
There was no circus last Tuesday in the Senate hearing on the $14-million Impsa Scam, contrary to how the arrogant one had labeled it. The proceedings were very orderly, and the senators in attendance comported themselves well. The questions put forward to President Estrada and the rest of the witnesses who processed the Impsa contracts elicited answers which only emphasized the obvious: That a big amount of money changed hands just so the sentence “The Republic of the Philippines has validly and effectively consented to the transfer and assignment to the lenders all of CBK’s right under the government undertaking” would be intercalated in a legal opinion. The hearing was a fine example of how a committee should go about its business, orderly and dignified, and how the presence of intelligent witnesses who do not balk at giving the painful but right answers give credence to an accusation.
Only those who think ill of their colleagues will thumb down the projected hearing of the Senate in the US on the Impsa Scam. True, there are other ways of getting the testimony of Mark Jimenez, like written interrogatories, but the prerogative to determine the most effective way to investigate lies in the committee. Nobody, to my recollection, has ever tried in the past to dictate upon a committee chairman how he should conduct his investigations. It seems to me the basic courtesies accorded the chairmen of committees have run out. Why? Is there anything to be afraid of about the contents of Jimenez’s revelations? Any opposition to any effort to get to the bottom of the scam is clearly an attempt to cover up.
When a client mouths what his lawyer instructs him to say, the client gives his lawyer the best compliment. That is exactly what one senator did during the hearing on the Impsa Scam; he asked questions reported to have been prepared by his lawyers for purposes of the aborted December hearing of the Osmeña (J.) committee. We noticed there was even no attempt to recast the questions, despite the previous leak. Of course, since the questions had been previously leaked, the answers to them came very easy and the witnesses were well prepared to give their answers.
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Senate Committee Report No. 62 (May 29, 2002) on the ratification of the Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters with Hong Kong should now be taken up, to dispel any insinuation of a determined effort of administration allies in the Senate to block the opening of the Coutts Bank account of Ernest Escaler allegedly for Nani Perez, to where part of the $14-million bribe is alleged to have been funnelled. Can Senator Villar, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, who pales miserably in comparison to his predecessor former Senator Ople, now muster enough courage to sponsor the report?
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The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) was conceived as a forum for leaders of Congress and the Executive to determine legislative priorities. That meeting last Tuesday, which unfortunately coincided with the Senate hearing on the Impsa., was an eye opener. Our sources tell us that Sen. Ed Angara carried the discussions. Angara was, after all, probably the only one who had come prepared, bringing with him the 8-point agenda of his party, the LDP. Angara’s output in that meeting of the Ledac only exposed the bankruptcy of minds of those in government who have always been expected to determine policy; what were adopted as priorities in the agenda were those put forward by the Opposition. Which is just as well. Examine the output of the Senate in the past two regular sessions, and it is all too obvious that all major pieces of legislation were authored and sponsored by those in the Opposition. Long before the call for a unity government was sounded out, the Opposition in the Senate had always been in the forefront in the crafting of laws beneficial to the country.
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The Bicameral Conference Committee deliberations at the DFA Conference Hall last Tuesday on the disagreeing provisions of the Senate and House versions on the absentee voting bill went very well, with Congressman Lozada and Senator Angara at the head of their respective panels. Only five major issues, out of the original 32 areas of disagreement; were left to be discussed for another day after three hours of give-and-take in the deliberations. Of the remaining issues to be resolved, what appears to be the most contentious are the provisions on coverage – who may be voted into office and who can vote – and the so-called “sunset” provision of the House. Both panels promised to resolve these issues by Tuesday. Hopefully, the Absentee Voting Law will finally be a reality not later than Friday this week.
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Speaker De Venecia’s “Cha-cha” resolution was diagnosed by Senate President Drilon as DOA should it ever be forwarded to the Senate for its concurrence. Given the certainty of the resolution’s demise at the doorsteps of the Senate, should not De Venecia now concentrate his efforts at realizing the legislative agenda crafted by the Ledac? But then, again, given his insistence that “Cha-cha” should be pursued, is there something to it that we may not find out until it is rammed down our throats? After all, De Venecia has never been known to pursue lost causes.
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Agriculture Secretary Lorenzo has reinstalled Executive Director Edwin P. Acoba to his post at the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). Acoba, who has done well at the ATI, was unfortunately the victim of politics under the previous leadership of the agriculture department. With Acoba back, ATI should now be able to pursue its nationwide training programs for farmers and the fisherfolk.
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