Ping: Still premature to tackle inhibition

Can Sen. Panfilo Lacson be both the accuser and investigator of former Senate President Manuel Villar Jr.?

Lacson said yesterday it was premature to discuss at this time whether he, being the incoming ethics committee chairman, should inhibit himself from the investigation into the conflict of interest charges against Villar.

He said he could not understand why he was already being asked to inhibit from the case when he has not even assumed the position yet.

The chairmanships of the committees under the new Senate leadership will be formally announced tomorrow.

“If I get pissed...” Lacson warned, hinting that he might pursue the case even more vigorously because of questions this early on whether he could be an impartial chairman of the ethics committee that would handle Villar’s case.

It was Lacson who exposed the double entry in the 2008 national budget for the C-5 road extension project and Villar’s successor, Juan Ponce Enrile, as chairman of the finance committee, confirmed it was Villar who asked for it.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal accused Villar of conflict of interest, as his real estate properties would allegedly benefit from the road project aside from right-of-way payments to be given to his company.

Madrigal filed a case before the Senate ethics committee, which would now be chaired by Lacson.

Both Lacson and Madrigal admitted being part of those who wanted to replace Villar to give the Senate moral ascendancy in conducting investigations into government anomalies. 

They said they did not like Villar to hang on to his powerful position despite a case of conflict of interest being filed against him.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, an ally of Villar, said Lacson must consider inhibiting himself more so now that he is the ethics committee chairman because he did announce his plans to do so when he was only a member of the panel.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. shared the opinion of Pangilinan. Pimentel opted to join Villar’s group because he did not like Enrile, an ally of Malacañang, to be leading the Senate.

“He (Lacson) himself said he did not like to have undue influence because he had been attacking Manny (Villar),” Pimentel said.

Pimente said he, like Lacson, would want the truth to come out of the investigation because it would be good for the Senate as a whole.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II, however, said Lacson need not inhibit himself because “documentational truths” would prevail during the hearing.

“Whatever is the truth should come out. He should not be disqualified just because he was the one who spoke about it,” Roxas said.

Enrile said it would be up to Lacson to decide whether to inhibit himself from the case.

The Senate chief added it would be up to the lawyers of Villar to move for the inhibition of Lacson if they deemed it proper to do so.

Enrile said he would not cover up for anybody but clarified he never masterminded Villar’s ouster after the controversy broke out.