Meeting but no heated exchange with Drilon – Jinggoy

MANILA, Philippines - The six-member minority bloc in the Senate scored the supposed lack of parliamentary courtesy among colleagues during the Blue Ribbon committee hearings on the pork barrel scam last month.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada confirmed having sought an audience with Senate President Franklin Drilon a week after the Senate Blue Ribbon started its pork barrel probe on Aug. 29.

But Estrada denied reports that he and some of his colleagues engaged in a heated conversation with Drilon.

The Blue Ribbon committee chaired by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III initiated the probe to know the details on how alleged scam operator Janet Lim-Napoles connived with legislators to siphon off money from their pork barrel funds through fictitious non-government organizations (NGOs).

“We asked for a meeting. We sought for a meeting on the way TG was handling the hearing,” Estrada said.

Estrada said he, along with Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Vicente Sotto III, Gregorio Honasan, JV Ejercito and Nancy Binay sought the meeting.

“All of us in the minority went to talk to the Senate President to air our concerns with the way the hearing was handled. We were told that he would discuss the matter with TG,” Estrada said.

He said Honasan served as their spokesman during the 30-minute meeting with Drilon.

Estrada was incensed that another colleague urged Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Grace Pulido-Tan to name the senators identified in the special audit report from 2007 to 2009 as those who had questionable transactions using NGOs.

Estrada, Honasan, Enrile and Sotto all inhibited from the Senate probe.

In subsequent hearings, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano insisted that whistle-blower Benhur Luy identify the lawmakers who had contact with Napoles.