Show up at next week's Senate hearing, Villar's consultant told

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile warned yesterday the consultant of Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. to show up in next week’s hearing or face the possibility of being cited in contempt and arrested by the Senate.

At the resumption of the hearing by the Senate Committee of the Whole yesterday on the ethics complaint against Villar, Enrile advised the lawyer of Anastacio Adriano Jr., said to be associated with Villar-owned businesses, to present his client on Tuesday.

“And to the witnesses that are being asked to appear here, the chair rules that we will give the counsel and his client a chance to appear on Sept. 8 and be purged of the possibility of contempt against the committee of the whole,” the Senate president said.

In a letter which his counsel Gabriel Enriquez presented during the hearing, Adriano asked to be excused because he was pre-occupied with handling the estate of his father who died in April.

The senators did not accept Adriano’s excuse and demanded his presence in the next hearing.

“In fact, this chair would like to suggest through counsel to advise the witness, his client, Anastacio C. Adriano Jr. and the respondent, to participate, freely and voluntarily in this proceeding so that we can dispose (of) this case, as soon as possible,” Enrile said.

Senators Richard Gordon and Jamby Madrigal rejected Adriano’s counsel’s alibi. They noted that even Sen. Noynoy Aquino attended Senate sessions even if his mother, former President Cory Aquino, had passed away. 

Madrigal said she attended Senate session when her relatives died in recent years.

Enrile said the Senate is working double time to resolve the ethics complaint against Villar concerning alleged funds insertion on the C5 road project.

“We are busy, we have so many problems to consider, but we can do that only if there is full cooperation on the part of everybody, including the respondent so that we can finish this the soonest time possible,” Enrile told Enriquez.

DPWH exec scolded

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant regional director for maintenance operations, engineer Edilberto Tayao was also scolded by senators for failing to present clear copies of maps and surveys subpoenaed by the committee for scrutiny.

He gave lawyer Ernesto Francisco, counsel for complainant Senator Madrigal, a runaround when the documents were being scrutinized. 

“You cannot pinpoint (which lots were Villar’s) because the documents you submitted were not clear,” Francisco told Tayao. 

Tayao maintained he was not part of the team that designed the surveys and maps.

Enrile was irked because Tayao submitted unclear copies. “You were the one who submitted the documents to the committee and now you are telling that you want to check it. Were you not the one who prepared the documents?” Enrile asked Tayao.

He demanded Tayao’s presence in the next hearing and with the pertinent documents.

Tayao manifested not to appear on Sept. 8 because he was being summoned on the same day by the Office of the Executive Secretary to give Malacañang a briefing on the C5 Road project.

But the Senate president turned down the engineer’s request.

The documents subjected for subpoena were parcellary surveys showing the exact locations of the affected lots, including the lot numbers, titles or tax declaration numbers, registered or declared owners, areas of the road right of way and the areas of the remaining portions. These documents included maps for Sucat Road to Multinational Avenue portion, Multinational to Kaingin Road, Multinational to SLEX, Las Piñas-Parañaque link road as well as the Quirino Avenue to Coastal Road.

At the start of the hearing, Francisco continued his direct examination of Yolanda Doblon, Director General of the Senate Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office.

When shown with a photograph of Adriano, Doblon confirmed that he was the same person with whom she discussed Villar’s amendments to the 2008 budget.

Doblon identified Adriano in her earlier testimony as the one who allegedly “dictated” the proposed amendment of Villar in the 2008 national budget, including the P200-million fund for the C5 road construction project.