October 15, 2003, The Philippine Star, Senate in quandary over Pidal probe, by Jess Diaz,

October 15, 2003, The Philippine Star, Senate in quandary over Pidal probe, by Jess Diaz,

The Senate is in a quandary on whether to proceed with or stop its investigation into the corruption and money laundering charges that opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson has leveled against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. 

It found itself in this dilemma because of the ruling of Sen. Joker Arroyo, chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, upholding the right to privacy that Arroyo’s brother Ignacio or Iggy invoked more than 20 times when asked about the Pidal accounts during his Senate testimony on Sept. 8. 

Under Arroyo’s ruling, the Jose Pidal inquiry cannot proceed unless Lacson shows proof that public funds were deposited in the Pidal accounts. 

"If there are no public funds involved, why would we conduct an investigation?" Arroyo said in Filipino, adding that his committee still has to evaluate the pieces of evidence that Lacson claimed in his latest privilege speech. 

Arroyo’s opinion has divided senators, although most of them, in media interviews, have expressed opposition to it. 

Yesterday, Majority Leader Loren Legarda urged her colleagues to proceed with the inquiry in the wake of what she described as "serious charges" that Lacson raised on Monday in the third chapter of his "Incredible Hulk-Jose Pidal" exposé. 

"Most of the charges were restated, but others were newly presented," she said. 

She said the new charges included the alleged use by President Arroyo of funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office for her May 2004 election bid and the P38 million in donations that Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez allegedly made to the Arroyos’ foundations. 

Lacson claims that a big part of the donations was diverted to the Jose Pidal accounts. 

"There is an attempt to stop the inquiry. We must proceed and have a credible conclusion to this," Legarda said. 

She pointed out that the investigating committees can even seek documents from the First Gentleman and his brother Iggy who, she stressed, must possess the original copies of checks and bank statements that Lacson has referred to since banks give these to their clients. 

Legarda’s Senate boss has a different opinion. Senate President Franklin Drilon shared Senator Arroyo’s opinion that Iggy Arroyo cannot be forced to answer questions about the Pidal accounts and his finances. 

Drilon said Lacson has failed to show proof that public money was hidden in the Pidal accounts. 

"I am afraid that we have no choice but to sustain the decision of the Blue Ribbon Committee chairman that Iggy Arroyo can invoke his right to privacy," he said. 

Before leaving for London three weeks ago, Drilon assured the nation that the Senate would ferret out the truth in the Pidal controversy. 

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments, and revision of codes and laws, said the Arroyo ruling "is just the opinion of one man that cannot bind the Blue Ribbon Committee and the Senate." 

"The chairman of a committee cannot make a ruling like that. Our agreement is that the entire committee will make a decision," he said. 

The Blue Ribbon is the lead panel in the Pidal inquiry. Angara’s committee and the committee on banks, chaired by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, are also involved in the investigation. 

Angara said Senator Arroyo should submit his opinion not only to the latter’s own committee but to the two other committees as well. 

"So Ignacio Arroyo is not yet off the hook. His right to privacy issue is not yet finally decided," he added. 

Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta said the Arroyo ruling, if it prevails, would render the power of the Senate to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation useless. 

She said the opinion would make senators a laughingstock. 

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Senator Arroyo "is wrong." 

"The refusal of Iggy Arroyo to respond to questions related to the Jose Pidal accounts is untenable for the simple reason that he embraced an issue that is already imbued with public character and national interest. Therefore, Iggy Arroyo cannot claim that he is a private person who should not be investigated," Pimentel said. 

He pointed out that nobody asked Iggy Arroyo to enter into the picture. 

"It was he who embraced the issue. Therefore, in effect he has waived the right to privacy if he was at all entitled to that right from the beginning," Pimentel added. 

About 10 days after Lacson first claimed that Jose Miguel Arroyo used the false name Jose Pidal to hide tens of millions in supposedly illegal funds, his brother Iggy surfaced to claim he is the real Jose Pidal. 

Lacson’s camp is apparently giving up hope that the Arroyo brothers would be forced to talk about the Pidal accounts and that the Senate would look into the various pieces of evidence that Lacson has presented before his colleagues. 

"They are not interested in the truth," said Lito Banayo, Lacson’s political adviser. 

Congressmen, including housing and urban development committee chairman Prospero Nograles and Reps. Exequiel Javier of Antique and Augusto Syjuco of Iloilo, have also called for an end to the Senate probe. 

"Still full of sound and fury evincing nothing. Stop the probe now in the absence of hard evidence from the accuser," Nograles said. — with Bong Fabe