Nene to Joker, Ping: Cool it

MANILA, Philippines – “Cool it.”

This is the unsolicited advice of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. to Senators Joker Arroyo and Panfilo Lacson, who have been engaged in a running word war over various issues.

“Just be calm. Kapag masyadong mainit ang salita ay natatabunan ‘yung mga issue (when words are too hot, real issues are overlooked),” Pimentel said.

“It is better not to have the same stand on a lot of matters. We do not need to muddle the issues by using words that are not necessary,” Pimentel said over radio dwIZ as he noted that the two senators’ tirades were becoming personal.

Last week, the word war between the two erupted again after Lacson accused Arroyo of harassing resource persons critical of the administration during public hearings at the Senate.

Arroyo then narrated past accusations of murder against Lacson and his aides when the senator was an officer of the Philippine National Police.

They exchanged heated words again after Lacson criticized Arroyo and pro-administration Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago for grilling officials of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce whose members were said to have insulted senators by asking President Arroyo not to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

Lacson claimed that Arroyo and his colleagues in the pro-administration bloc showed signs of double standard and dual personality when they shouted at and threatened witnesses during investigations of graft-ridden transactions.

Arroyo responded to Lacson’s tirades by recalling his “dark past” as a police official.

“I am scared stiff to tangle with Sen. Lacson. I do not want to suffer the fate of those who tangled with him,” Arroyo said, citing, among other cases, the alleged rubout of the Kuratong Baleleng robbery gang and the murder of publicist Bubby Dacer and his driver.

Arroyo said Lacson’s prodigy, former police senior superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, is now detained in the US serving a sentence for espionage after he handled confidential papers from the White House sent to him by former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, Filipino-American Leandro Aragoncillo, also charged with espionage in the US.  – Aurea Calica