Lawmaker claims Drilon bullied him

MANILA, Philippines - Rep. Terry Ridon of party-list group Kabataan claimed yesterday that Senate President Franklin Drilon bullied him in a social gathering on Saturday night.

Sought for comment, the Senate leader said in a text message: “He is making a mountain out of a molehill. The band was noisy. I spoke louder so I could be heard.”

Ridon recounted their meeting: “It was the birthday celebration of one of our colleagues in Congress. Drilon was making the rounds to say hello. Then he went to the congressmen’s tables. As is protocol, we all stood up to greet him. I shook his hand, and he asked who I was. Congressman Ridon, I said. Then he imploded.”

He quoted the Senate leader as asking: “Jesus Christ, why do you keep insulting me? What did I ever do to you?”

Ridon has alleged that the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC), a project of Drilon partly funded from the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), was overpriced.

He has urged the Senate official to explain its cost. Drilon, on the other hand, said Ridon’s question should be addressed to the Department of Public Works and Highways, the implementing agency.

“Even as he turned away, he still kept muttering, ‘Why do you keep insulting me? What did I do to you?’” Ridon said.

He said he did not answer Drilon.

“Mr. Senate President, I was not able to tell you this last Saturday night, but let me just say that I never called you names, nor did I call you corrupt. I just said that the ICC might have been overpriced, and its bidding might have been rigged,” he said.

Ridon said he raised the issue not as a personal attack on Drilon but as a call for transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

“The public needs to know if the ICC is indeed overpriced, since it was funded by the outlawed (Priority Development Assistance Fund) and DAP,” he said.

Ridon added that he did not expect Drilon to be angered by his statements. He urged the Senate leader “to issue a public apology.”