Barbers to identify presidential son if...

Sen. Robert Barbers said yesterday that he would make public the "presidential son" who was alleged to have blocked the further investigation of the seizure of 140 kilos shabu in Parañaque in 1996, if his fellow senators allow him.

Police Superintendent John Campos wrote down the name of the "presidential son" on a piece of paper during a joint committee hearing the other day after he refused to identify the person in open session. Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, was the only senator who read the piece of paper, before returning it to Campos.

Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Rodolfo Biazon both called for the disclosure of the name, as they contended that there was no agreement in the joint hearing to consider the identification classified information.

Barbers, however, said that it would be unfair to identify the supposed "presidential son" because Campos did not offer any evidence to back up his allegation.

"Anybody can name names, but we need proof. I can tell committee members the name furnished by Campos but in confidence, because the identity was given to me in confidence," he said.

He added that he would even reveal the name written on the piece of paper if all committee members agree to the identification.

Biazon complained that it was Campos, a witness, and not senators who determined whether information is classified because it involved national security. He contended that without the determination that the information involves national security, the name should have been revealed in open hearing.

Earlier, Sen. Noli de Castro denied saying that a presidential son-in-law was involved in the drug trade.

In a privilege speech De Castro denied a press report quoting him as implicating Lloyd Samartino, son-in-law of former President Fidel Ramos, in the drug trade.

Ramos, who was president in 1996, has no son. Samartino is the estranged husband of Ramos’ youngest daughter Jo.

Pimentel asked De Castro if he knew whether or not the name mentioned in the piece of paper was a son or son-in-law of President Ramos.

"It was clear that Campos identified a presidential son and not a son-in-law," De Castro stressed.

Barbers refused to clarify whether the adjective "presidential" referred to a former president or an incumbent president. Former President Joseph Estrada has three sons: former San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, incumbent San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, and one-time actor and former air force pilot Jude Estrada.