Pimentel justifies ‘endless’ Senate probes

Probes in aid of legislation, rather than legislation itself, were the Senate’s accomplishments last year.

The Senate lived up to its constitutional mandate of investigating scandals and anomalies committed by public officials and functionaries last year, Senate Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said yesterday.

Although Pimentel conceded that the Senate’s pace in passing bills in 2005 was slow, he said senators from the minority bloc saw to it that no stone was left unturned in the conduct of exposes as they sought to get to the bottom of graft cases.

He said opposition senators also saw to it that the doors of the Senate were kept open for the people who sought redress of legitimate grievances — regardless of their political color, status in life or cultural origins.

This, he added, was in keeping with the Senate’s role as a bulwark of democracy.

"What the people should understand is that the Senate is not only tasked with enacting laws," Pimentel said. "Of equal importance is our role in investigating the wrongdoing of the administration in line with the principle of checks and balance among the three independent branches of government enshrined in the Constitution."

In 2005, the Senate conducted lengthy and exhaustive inquiries into the jueteng controversy, the alleged diversion of P728 million in fertilizer funds to the election campaign of President Arroyo, the "Hello Garci" scandal, the government’s P50 million a year contract with American lobby group Venable LLP, the illegal raid on the residence of former NBI handwriting expert Segundo Tabayoyong and the confiscation of election documents and the $500 million North Rail project, among other matters.

Pimentel also assailed Malacañang’s blatant attempts to block the Senate’s investigations with the issuance of Executive Order 464, which prevents Cabinet members, other officials of the executive branch and police and military officials from testifying before congressional hearings without prior clearance from the President.

"A patently unconstitutional directive, EO 464 did not prevent the Senate from pursuing the investigation of these cases," he said. "But, admittedly, the issuance of this executive order hampered our inquiry" because "the Cabinet members and other administration officials involved boycotted the hearings for fear of sanctions or reprisals from the Palace."

What was encouraging, Pimentel said, was that administration senators who chaired various investigating panels did not succumb to Malacañang’s pressure for them to stop the inquiries.

Without the Senate investigations, Pimentel said, the extent of the irregularities in the release and distribution of the P728-million fertilizer fund and the people involved would not have been uncovered.

However, former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, believed to be the architect of the fertilizer fund scam, has evaded the Senate probe, prompting the chamber to issue an arrest warrant against him.

Pimentel said the Senate probe also prompted the President to cancel the Venable contract, thereby saving for the government a huge amount of taxpayers’ money.

As 2006 begins, Pimentel echoed his colleagues hopes that Malacañang and transportation officials will take steps to renegotiate the contract with the Chinese government on the North Rail project, in view of the Senate’s findings.

As a result of a Senate inquiry, it was found out that the North Rail construction contract was overpriced and contained terms that are disadvantageous to the Philippine government.

With regards to the Senate’s legislative duties, Pimentel said the chamber convened itself into a Committee of the Whole to expedite the deliberations and approval of the P1.06-trillion national budget for 2006.

Unfortunately, the House of Representatives failed to pass the measure before Congress adjourned for its Christmas recess on Dec. 15.

The House was supposed to transmit the budget bill to the Senate by mid-November.

Pimentel said the deliberations on the General Appropriations Act at the level of the House committee on appropriations were not even wrapped up yet.

"It was irresponsible on the part of the House of Representatives to fail to pass the budget bill, because it is the principal item in the annual legislative agenda of Congress that the Constitution mandates it to approve before the end of the year," Pimentel said.