Amid road scandal, Villar battles ouster moves

MANILA, Philippines – Amid the controversy on congressional insertions in the national budget, Senate President Manuel Villar is bracing for his possible ouster.

But one of his key allies, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, said Villar would still keep his post despite accusations against the Senate leader of initiating a double entry in the national budget that has sparked a lengthy debate among lawmakers.

“It’s still a numbers game, I don’t think they have the numbers,” Estrada said.

Estrada revealed that on the eve of the opening of session last July, a colleague called up his father, former President Joseph Estrada, asking him as leader of the opposition to support the move to oust Villar.

“(The move to unseat Villar) is continuing. They never stop. This senator told my father that I would be able to keep my position even if there would be leadership change. My father told them it would be better for me to lose my position rather than my principle,” the younger Estrada said.

Estrada though refused to name the senator who called up his father.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, a member of the majority, reportedly tried to get the numbers to unseat Villar, but he has denied it.

The younger Estrada said he would support moves to investigate the Senate chief, and advised Villar to inhibit in the investigation, like what Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile did when the alleged smuggling of second-hand cars in his hometown Cagayan was being investigated.

Estrada though stressed there is no need for Villar to take a leave of absence.

Other senators from the majority also said there are no moves to unseat Villar, even in the light of the budget controversy.

But they admitted feeling the tension among the so-called “bigwigs” in the Senate.

Villar earlier said he is now ready for anything that comes his way, especially after announcing his plans to seek the presidency in 2010.

The Senate president however remained confident he still has the numbers.

“I am confident I still have the backing of the majority of senators. I believe my colleagues in both the majority and the minority blocs are capable of determining the real issues from the politically motivated conflicts. As long as you have the support of the majority of senators, you will remain the Senate president,” Villar told The STAR, breaking a three-day silence.

Barely a week after announcing his political plans, Villar was accused by another presidential wannabe, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, of inserting a P200-million proposal in the P1.227-trillion 2008 budget to fund a road project already covered in another part of the budget measure.

But Villar said he has nothing to hide and is even willing to face an investigation. “It’s part of democracy,” he said, at the same time maintaining his innocence.

“I didn’t do what is being accused of me. I have long advocated for transparency and accountability in government and I have no intention of destroying my reputation as a public servant and as an entrepreneur with involvement in financial impropriety,” he added.

The “road to nowhere” issue became a hot topic in the Senate, triggering a slew of accusations among lawmakers of making underhanded insertions in the national budget.

There are allegations that a total of P4 billion had been inserted in the bloated 2008 budget.

Poker faces

Senators said they would look into the issue of the P4-billion insertions, and Villar said he would support the initiative to uncover the lawmakers who made the insertions in the national outlay.

The investigation, initiated by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, will focus on the insertions and find out their authors in an effort to salvage the image of the Senate, which had been the venue for exposing anomalies in government.

But some of the senators, including Lacson, are keeping their hands off any possible investigation into reports linking El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde, whose company allegedly received compensation for right of way over its Parañaque property just like Brittany Corp., a property development firm owned by Villar.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal filed a resolution urging the Senate committee on public works to investigate if public funds were used for right of way acquisitions and construction of the road project that would benefit Brittany’s project in Parañaque.

Madrigal also said Velarde must be included in the investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, however, said there is no need to investigate Velarde at this time.

“As things are now turning out, maybe the investigation should only be focused on finding out why there was double funding,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel admitted that he and his colleagues were not able to detect the double funding in the budget.

“And what about our technical staff? How come they did not notice it either? At this point, it looks like nobody made money out of it,” he said.

Pimentel also advised his colleagues to remain cool, bearing in mind that not all insertions are malicious but could simply be bureaucratic error.

Lacson, who revealed the double entry in the national budget, claimed he had discovered a total of P4,126,500,000 worth of insertions in the budget.

“Yes, it’s true that I discovered P4,126,500,000 in insertions – P3.916 billion of which emanated from the Senate. As far as I’m concerned, as poker players would say, all in,” Lacson said.

Lacson said that Villar’s alleged insertion was placed under the heading “Construction of C5 Road Extension from SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) to Sucat Road including ROW (right of way).”

Villar denied introducing the double allocation, which was already identified on a separate page of the national outlay under the entry “Construction of Pres. Garcia Ave. Ext. from SLEX to Sucat Road including ROW.”

Reports insinuated that Villar stands to gain from the double outlay since the proposed road project will pass through several subdivisions being developed by his Brittany Corp.

Lacson warned his colleagues in the majority against blocking the investigation on Villar.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on public works, added he would support an investigation by the committee of the whole to find out the truth about the insertions.

Cayetano had filed a resolution to look into all infrastructure projects in the national budget to determine which of them possibly received double outlays.

Senators Francis Escudero, Richard Gordon, Revilla and Cayetano are members of the majority. Sen. Joker Arroyo, another member of the majority, said the Senate would investigate itself for “ineptness and indolence” as they approved the budget unanimously with the insertions.

Lacson said the Senate would be a failure as an institution if it would not be able to get to the bottom of the issue that was very important and sensitive.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, on the other hand, appealed to lawmakers not to pass judgment on Villar.

“I think in fairness to Sen. Villar, (the allegations) should be looked into, not because he is guilty per se, but fair is fair,” he said.

“He (Villar) was accused so let him have his day in court, so to speak,” Cruz said.

Only to impress

The squabble between Villar and Lacson over the issue of insertions in the national budget is a mere publicity stunt by the two presidential wannabes to boost their chances in the 2010 elections, according to former Surigao del Sur congressman Prospero Pichay.

Pichay, spokesman for the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party, said the two senators are only trying to impress the public with their attention to detail.

Pichay said there is nothing irregular about the alleged insertions in the national budget since it has been the traditional practice among lawmakers.

He said their quarrel over insertions to fund road projects is a useless effort, since the allocations to finance a government project are always reflected in the national outlay.

“What I see here is that presidentiables are now fighting each other,” Pichay said.

The new chairman of the Local Water Utilities Authority (LWUA) said Villar and Lacson are both eyeing the top post of the land.

Pichay, who lost in his senatorial bid in the May 2007 elections, said the Senate is traditionally the stepping-stone to the presidency.

And this early, Pichay said some of the presidential wannabes have their own way of getting public attention to increase their political chances.

Pichay explained that during his stint as representative of Surigao del Sur, allocations for a road project in his congressional district are always reflected in the national budget.

“Roads are continuing projects and works are done by phases, after completion another budget may be inserted for the continuance of the project,” he said.

Pichay, however, declined to comment on the reports that the C-5 Road expansion project in Parañaque City may have benefited a realty firm linked to Villar and El Shaddai leader Velarde.

Pichay explained the usual procedure is to identify the road project from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) or the representative of the congressional district where the project is located.

With caution

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, chairman of the House appropriations committee that approved the 2008 budget, said the insertion controversy only gives the House of Representatives more reason to exercise its power to appropriate, but added that the exercise of power of the purse carries a big responsibility.

“Realigning or amending the budget must be done with rhyme and reason. It should not be baseless. We have to make sure whether the funding support is necessary, reasonable and beneficial and changes are done with caution,” he said.

Lagman pointed out the House has the full discretion to allocate funds that includes, among others, the power to prescribe the conditions governing their use and “to initiate necessary appropriations.”

“That was sustained in a Supreme Court ruling. It rules that CDF (Countrywide Development Fund or pork barrel) is constitutional and legal,” he explained.

Once the budget is turned over to Congress, the House has to focus on national objective, Lagman said.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon agreed Congress must continue to exercise its power of the purse, but with extreme care.

“It is the Congress’ constitutional duty, obligation and right to amend, improve, even realign the items or correct the budget proposed by Malacañang,” he said.

Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, for her part, lamented that her husband is being pilloried before the media over the double entry controversy.

“You know if you work very hard all your life, then somebody will accuse you of stealing public money, you don’t deserve it,” she told a television interview.

“They said we should not mind it because it’s politics. It’s supposed to be normal occurrence in politics but still it hurts when it happens,” Rep. Villar said.

Former Cavite congressman Gilbert Remulla, spokesman for the Nacionalista Party (NP) headed by Villar, said the allegations against the senator are part of the political posturing for the 2010 presidential elections.

“They are just afraid of Mr. Villar because he has the machinery to run in the 2010 elections,” Remulla said. – With Christina Mendez, Perseus Echeminada, Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan