No Senate quorum for probe on Puno?

MANILA, Philippines - Today’s Senate probe on the activities of resigned interior undersecretary Rico Puno remains uncertain, with committee on constitutional amendments chair Miriam Defensor-Santiago fearing a “sabotage” of the inquiry through a lack of quorum and the absence of Puno himself.

Trying to preempt a possible lack of quorum, Santiago yesterday accused Malacañang of engineering the likely snub.

Santiago said not a single senator is available for today’s hearing and that “many gave as an excuse that they would be out of town” when her staff contacted the members of her committee.

Santiago told the media that if there is no quorum today, this can only mean that the senators have been ordered by Malacañang to stay away from the probe.

“If it happens, such a deliberate boycott will indicate that even my fellow senators who are members of my committee do not support my initiative. I will certainly raise a protest, but I’m thinking at the moment of what form my protest will take,” Santiago said.

Puno himself has not yet confirmed his attendance.

Santiago noted that Puno told media a few days ago that he had not yet received his invitation, but Santiago’s staff said that all invitations had been sent last Sept. 10. 

The invitation specifically warns that if the committee deems as necessary the testimony of the resource person and he is absent from the probe, then the committee will issue a subpoena, which makes attendance compulsory.

Since Puno is expected to snub the hearing, Santiago said that if the committee decides to issue a subpoena to Puno, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will still have to sign the subpoena.

“If the Senate President refuses to sign the subpoena, in effect he will disapprove the committee recommendation, which is not normal,” she said. Santiago said that if Puno is absent, “then it will show that he is a craven coward, that all charges against him are probably true, and that he is thumbing his nose at the Filipino public.”

Santiago said that even if Puno will claim that he does not want to answer questions because he might incriminate himself, this is not an excuse for being absent.

“He has to be present and invoke the privilege for every question. That is not a ground for an omnibus refusal to answer all questions or to be absent,” she said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, for his part, echoed the opinion of Enrile on some issues that may hound Santiago’s hearing, since she was conducting the inquiry without filing a resolution or the benefit of a privilege speech.

“The rules are clear that there has to be a resolution or privilege speech, then subsequently, a referral to the committee. It is not one chairman deciding to refer to his or her committee whatever issue is raised on the floor,” Lacson said.

Santiago’s office issued a media advisory yesterday afternoon that the following have confirmed their attendance for today’s hearing: Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, National Police Commission vice chair and executive officer Eduardo Escueta, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome, Deputy Director General and PNP Bids and Awards Committee chairman Emelito Sarmiento, gun supplier Reynaldo Espineli and Senior Superintendent Oliver Tanseco.

Other invited persons who have confirmed attendance are: Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao, deputy director of operations, Quezon City Police District; Jocelyn Jose of Trust Trade and Glock Asia Pacific; Department of the Interior and Local Government special assistant Isoceles Otero and Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, anti-illegal logging task force head.

But in a text message to reporters yesterday afternoon, De Lima said she had declined to attend today’s Senate probe.

“No, I have Palace meetings tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Also, no authority yet from the President to appear,” De Lima said.

In an ambush interview at the Department of Justice (DOJ) also yesterday, De Lima said she would invoke executive privilege since she does not know yet the scope of questions that will be asked during her testimony. 

She said that they are being asked to deliver a statement, which she described as quite vague.

“Out of caution and out of prudence (I need to ask permission from the President),” she said. 

New Glock pistols

Malacañang said yesterday policemen should get their new Glock pistols soon since President Aquino did not have any question on the contract the PNP and a gun supplier signed last Sept. 10.

The contract will allow the purchase of 59,904 units of 9mm Glock 17 Generation 4 at a cost of P1.98 billion. “As far as we know, there’s no more problem on that,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the President himself clarified that he did not have a problem with the bidding process on the Glock pistols, only on the rifles.

Lacierda said it would now be up to Bartolome to sign the contract. The PNP chief has 15 days from Sept. 10 to approve or disapprove the signed contract of the gun deal between the PNP and Trust Trade of the Philippines.

Sarmiento maintained the deal was aboveboard and that the PNP BAC strictly followed all the procedures in the procurement of the pistols.

This hopes to completely fill the requirement for firearms for 148,000 policemen nationwide.

Sarmiento said they would check reports that a losing bidder on the gun procurement was behind the media blitz and insinuations of anomalies in the pistol deal.

“The most we can do is to consider to subject them to suspension or blacklisting proceedings because they have been trying to influence the decision of the BAC. Along that line, our legal luminaries are checking the possibilities,” he said.

Sarmiento said all bidders should have exhausted all legal avenues to be able to boost their chances of getting the deal instead of resorting to media attacks.

Contrary to allegations, Sarmiento said Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon has denied reports that 28,000 units of 9mm pistols imported by Trust Trade arrived in the country on Sept. 4, even before the contract was formally sealed.

“I have instructed the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) to coordinate with the Customs and secure certification that no such importation arrived,” Sarmiento said.

The PNP, on the other hand, scrapped two batches of procurement for assault rifles worth P391 million last Aug. 31.

Aquino said he had personally discovered the overprice in the purchase of assault rifles over Google, which prompted him to instruct the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to investigate the deal.

Meanwhile, Sarmiento told a news conference at the House of Representatives that Puno supervised the procurement of P1.4-billion worth of pistols and rifles for the PNP.

However, he claimed that the controversial official did not influence his committee.  

Gun supplier airs side

Meanwhile, Reynaldo Espineli, general manager of R. Espineli Trading, explained his side over reports that his firm may have overpriced the planned procurement of 1,500 units of caliber 5.56 mm assault rifles under Public Bidding No. PNP 12-05G.

Espineli was baffled why the botched deal was the subject of an investigation when it did not push through because his firm was disqualified.  

R. Espineli Trading is the exclusive distributor of Israel Weapons Industries (IWI) Ltd., which submitted the “single largest similar contract” to the PNP.

“I joined the public bidding because it was published in the papers,” he said, adding that since the deal did not push through, it did not cause any disadvantage to the government.  

Seized PNP pistol

In a related development, the PNP leadership is coordinating with Indonesian authorities who seized a Beretta pistol with “Property Philippine National Police” markings from a recent encounter with a group of terrorists.

The PNP and Indonesian authorities are trying to trace the origin of the pistol seized after a raid in Solo City (or Surakarta City) in Central Java, Indonesia. 

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said they have to get the serial number of the firearm to be able to trace where it came from. – With Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Christina Mendez, Sandy Araneta