TG on Napoles subpoena: Senate independent from Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Teofisto Guingona III rebutted Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday for invoking the opinion of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales in his decision to defer the issuance of subpoena on alleged pork barrel scam operator Janet Lim Napoles.

Guingona, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said he does not see “any logical sense” in Drilon's decision to authorize the subpoena for the whistleblowers and refuse to sign the subpoena for Napoles.

“If the Senate President can allow the whistleblowers to come before the Senate, I see no logical reason why he should prevent the Blue Ribbon Committee from summoning Janet Lim-Napoles,” Guingona said. “If we accept the invocation of the Ombudsman's power to protect the confidentiality of matters before it, then the Senate President should not have signed the subpoena for the whistleblowers."

Guingona expressed disappointment anew over what he described as “the different but unreasonable treatment between the whistleblowers and Janet Lim-Napoles.”

He said that it raises the obvious question on what is so confidential about Ms. Napoles' possible testimony that it cannot be made under oath before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

“We have to emphasize that the Ombudsman, in her letter, did not prohibit the Senate from calling Janet Lim-Napoles.  While we respect the Ombudsman’s advice, we can not follow it.  The Senate is independent from the Ombudsman.  The Senate is not bound by the advice of the Ombudsman,” Guingona said.

The senator also cited that the power of the Senate to conduct investigation in aid of legislation exists under the Constitution.

Guingona, however, lauded Drilon’s move to signed the subpoena duces tecum/ ad testificandum for Justice Sec. Leila de Lima, who has been compelled by the Senate committee earlier to produce whistleblower Benhur Luy and the other whistleblowers during the the fifth inquiry.

The inquiry was abruptly suspended by the committee due to the absence of the whistleblowers.

“The Senate President did the right thing in signing the subpoena for the whistleblowers,” Guingona said in a statement.

“This is a clear affirmation of our position that the Constitution and the Supreme Court both uphold the power of the Senate to conduct investigations in aid of legislation. More importantly, this is a clear recognition of the people’s right to information,” Guingona added.

Earlier during the hearing, Guingona slammed De Lima for not bringing Luy and the other whistleblowers during the resumption of the Blue Ribbon hearing on the pork barrel scam.

De Lima had said that she could not bring Luy and the other whistleblowers because their against Napoles and several lawmakers, including senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, had been filed with the Office of the Ombudsman.