Albano urges Magtubo to attend ethics probe

A House leader urged sectoral Rep. Renato Magtubo of the leftist group Sanlakas yesterday to attend the projected ethics committee inquiry into his bribery allegations.

Assistant Majority Leader Rodolfo Albano III (LAMP, Isabela) said Magtubo should prove before the committee his claim that congressmen were each given P500,000 in connection with the approval of the controversial Omnibus Power Bill.

"Rene should not be afraid of the investigation because he is a member of this institution. If he has evidence to support his allegations, our colleagues will definitely support him," he said.

Magtubo is still keeping the P500,000 cash which he claimed he received for voting against the power bill. He has alleged that those who voted for and against the measure were given money.

No other member of the House has admitted receiving P500,000, although some Cebu congressmen said they did receive an unspecified amount, but it was a bonus or gratuity that was usually given whenever Congress goes on recess.

The alleged bonus was reportedly given before the Holy Week break which started on April 16.

Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona (LAMP, Romblon), chairman of the House accounts committee, said his committee released P50,000 to each member of the chamber on April 11 and 12.

The money was intended for staff salaries and other minor expenses, he said.

He said he did not know where Magtubo got his P500,000.

Albano also urged an unnamed Mindanao congressman to come out in the open and prove his claim that Magtubo had allegedly asked for P50 million from a potential buyer of the National Power Corp. in exchange for Sanlakas' silence on the power bill.

Magtubo has denied the allegation of his colleague who made the revelation in an interview with reporters.

"I am appealing to our colleague to come out in the open to prove his accusation. Since we all belong to this institution, it is incumbent upon us to do everything to ensure the integrity of this chamber," Albano said.

He said the unnamed congressman's claim, if he is able to support it, could help the ethics committee in going into the motive of Magtubo in making the bribery allegation.

Earlier, Deputy Speaker Erico Aumentado (LAMP, Bohol) accused the Sanlakas representative of trying to bring down the entire House by accusing all its members of having received money in connection with the power bill.

Aumentado said a similar shotgun accusation was previously made by Magtubo, who had claimed that congressmen did not want to get involved in the Philippine Airlines employees' strike because they were in the pockets of PAL chairman Lucio Tan.

Magtubo is under investigation by the ethics committee for the sweeping PAL strike-related statement.

The PAL employees' union is affiliated with Sanlakas.