Guingona, Trillanes prejudging 'pork' case - analyst

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III should not have praised the testimony of new "pork barrel" scam witness Ruby Tuason in Thursday's hearing, a political analyst said.

Professor Edmund Tayao of the University of Santo Tomas said that Guingona's description of Tuason's statement as a "3-point buzzer beater shot" shows his leanings in the case against Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile.

"Senators should not prejudge the case against their colleague," Tayao said in an interview with ABS-CBN's ANC on Thursday.

He added that it was too early to make conclusions about the accounts of the witnesses, particularly of Tuason's.

"Mahaba pa ito. It’s difficult to say if one side is gaining traction and the other is not," the expert said.

Tayao also made references to Senator Antonio Triallnes IV, who questioned Tuason on her possible knowledge on Enrile's involvement in the scam. Tuason had said that Enrile's former chief of staff Gigi Reyes, received kickbacks from businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

Tuason said that Enrile never directly dealt with her nor spoke of his Priority Development Assistance Funds.

Trillanes then asked Tuason several times if she thinks Enrile knows of what his aide was engaged in. The witness refused to speculate at first, but later on gave in to the senator's prodding and said, "He might have."

Tayao said Trillanes seemed to have forced the answer from the witness.

"She isn't saying categorically that she doesn't think that the senator knows what the chief of staff is doing ... because she doesn't have direct knowledge of it. So yung pipilitin mong sumagot ... it's like suggesting that you would like the witness to say what you want her to say," the analyst said.

Trillanes is among Enrile's known political foes.

Politically motived?

Tayao also raised questions on whether the case was politically motivated. For one, only three senators appear to be involved in the squandering of billions in public funds.

"Why are cases just filed against these three senators when this is not politically motivated? Obviously there is abuse somewhere, and definitely justice must be delivered, but at the end of it, we don't want this [case] to be political," he also said.

Estrada, Enrile and Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., tagged to be the main respondents in plunder cases connected with the scam, belong to the opposition.

"We don't want this to be political--that some of those who are not really involved would be involved because you're not part of the political group," Tayao added.

Why the public hearings?

The political science expert also believes that the Blue Ribbon Committee, which is staging the public investigation on the scam "in aid of legislation," should leave the matter to the courts.

"Why don't we just focus on the court proceedings? I'm not really sure of what value or significance hearings like this would bring to it," he stressed.

"Parang pa-gwapo to lahat e," Tayao said, adding that what the people really want to see is those responsible in the scam being ordered arrested and hauled to jail.