Lacson to remain as head of Senate ethics committee

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday he would remain as chairman of the Senate ethics committee that would investigate complaints against his colleagues.

He also vowed to expose the alleged illegal disbursements made by a senator in 2008 amounting to P3 million monthly based on his examination as head of the accounts panel.

Lacson became chairman of both the ethics and accounts committees following the Senate reorganization last year that ousted then Senate President Manuel Villar Jr.

So far, no senator has openly questioned whether Lacson should stay on as ethics committee chair when he himself is facing charges for the November 2000 murders of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Lacson said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has assured him of the Senate’s support and legal assistance if his rights would be violated or abused during the course of the re-opening of the Dacer-Corbito case.

Aside from the pending cases in the ethics committee, Lacson said his initial findings showed a senator made huge advan­ces in representation and discretionary funds without reasonable basis.

“I will discuss this with my colleagues, after all this involves Senate funds and not only one person,” he said over radio station dwIZ.

“To give you an idea, someone collected more than P3 million a month just for discretionary (funds) or representation, that is only one of those I saw in 2008. There are others that I need to look into and evaluate. Not just by me, actually, but by the whole Senate,” he said.

He refused to name the senator, saying the evaluation of records had not yet been completed.

As ethics committee chairman, Lacson said he asked the secretariat to send notices to those who were facing charges before the panel as well as copies of the complaints.

Lacson said the respondent-senators must submit their answers within five days.

Hearings were set on April 15 and 22.

Those who have cases before the ethics committee were former Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. for the alleged double insertion into the funding for a C-5 road project and plunder; Sen. Richard Gordon for being chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross while serving as senator; Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV for the Manila Peninsula siege; and Sen. Joker Arroyo for supposedly allowing an unauthorized person to join an executive session of the senators during a hearing on the national broadband network deal controversy with then National Economic and Development Authority head Romulo Neri.