Palace to Senate: Stop jueteng probe

Malacañang appealed yesterday to the Senate to end its hearings on jueteng.

However, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. said the hearings will resume on Thursday and would continue until members of the two committees handling the hearing decide to end the inquiry.

"We hope that this will put to rest talks that the jueteng hearing is finished," he said.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Arroyo has not benefited from jueteng payoffs, and that she had ordered an investigation into the alleged links to illegal gambling of her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo; son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, and brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo.

"The time for politicking is over," he said.

"Let me repeat that some of her rabid detractors will not stop... They have their own agenda, but the President has her own plans and the plan of the President is to continue the economic reforms.

"They have had enough opportunity to gather the information they need to help them come up with a decision as to what type of legislation they would pass in connection with this controversy."

Bunye and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the hearings were only a venue for "character assassination" since people were getting implicated into jueteng without sufficient evidence.

The matter should be brought before the courts, where the accused individuals could defend themselves through legal means, the two officials added.

Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo’s detractors clearly never had any plans to improve the lives of the people, but only to bring down the government.

Mrs. Arroyo has given police a deadline to "wipe out" illegal gambling before her term ends, he added.

The Senate already got enough inputs to "make a sound judgment" as to whether to legalize jueteng, Bunye said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, along with fellow pro-administration Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Richard Gordon have called for an end to the jueteng inquiry after four hearings.

Drilon said he would seek out Villar, Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs chairman, and Sen. Manuel Lapid, chairman of the committee on games and amusement, to consider concluding the hearings.

Lapid, who opposed the conduct of the hearing from the very start, indicated that he was in favor of ending the investigation.

Villar has advised committee members to focus on the objective of the investigation, which was to recommend whether jueteng should be legalized.

"It was never the objective of the jueteng hearing to implicate anyone," he said. "We are just here to hear the testimonies of the resource persons or witnesses. We are doing this in aid of legislation first and foremost."

On the other hand, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the investigation was not conducted to exclusively decide whether to legalize jueteng.

Focus must be also given to other issues, like corruption, which has characterized the operation of the illegal numbers game, he added.

Pimentel said Drilon’s call for an end to the jueteng hearings would put Villar on the spot.

Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said more hearings should be conducted by the committees, as there were several questions brought about by the testimony given at the hearings by witnesses. – Aurea Calica