Breakdown of decorum at Senate session on Villar

In more venerable times, the Philippine Senate was a marketplace of ideas where orators and statesmen debated competing visions for the nation. At Monday's session on the Villar ethics case, the august hall was more like a market, with shouting and insults. There was even a blatant reference by one senator to a colleague's sex life.

After Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile sponsored the resolution seeking the censure of Senator and presidential candidate Manuel Villar for the C5 extension road project controversy, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano stood up to sponsor the resolution he earlier filed clearing Villar of the charges. Cayetano blasted his colleagues for unfairly judging the NP standard-bearer in an improper venue. “As a general rule, hindi hinuhusgahan at hindi hini-hearing o hindi inaakusahan ang kapwa senador... Meron tayong korte, may civil courts at may ibang mga parties na sinasabi ng Konstitusyon at ng batas na dapat haharap," said Cayetano. (As a general rule, you don’t judge or accuse your colleague or put him on trial… We have courts and other parties where he could face trial as mandated by the Constitution). The accusations against Villar are contained in an 84-page report that was signed by 12 of the 23 senators comprising the Senate committee of the whole led by Enrile. The report claimed that Villar should be censured for exerting influence on the Department of Public Works and Highways so that his properties would benefit from the alleged realignment of the C-5 Road Extension in the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas. Villar opted not to show up during the session, which lasted for about four hours. He instead held a press conference inside his office on the fifth floor of the Senate building. The beleaguered senator told reporters he was ready to answer the charges hurled against him, but not in front of his accusers. “Anytime naman handa akong sagutin iyan. Pero sa labas, sa tao, kasi dito sa committee wala naman akong nakikitang magkakaroon ako ng katarungan (I can respond to the charges anytime. But I’ll do it outside, before the people, not before the committee, because I don’t think I can get justice there.)," he said.
For the latest Philippine news videos, visit GMANews.TV 'Am I lying?' While he was defending Villar, Cayetano was asked by Enrile where Villar was and if the latter would go to the session hall to answer the allegations. "Pupunta ba dito ang respondent para matanong ng diretso? Andito yung complainant sa palagay ko dapat andito ang respondent. Yung ipinagtatanggol ninyo makikipagdebate ba dito? Kung ang sinasabi nyo ay totoo I will ask him pointed questions kung ako ay nagsisinungaling. Gusto ko tanungin kung yung dokumento ba namin ay nagsisinungaling," said Enrile, who drafted the report of the committee of the whole. The Senate President received applause for this remark. ("Will the respondent show up so we can ask directly? The complainant is here, so should the respondent. Will the one you are defending be willing to debate? If what you are saying is true, I will ask if I am lying. I want to ask him if this document is a lie.") Cayetano said there is no need for Villar to go to the session hall and defend himself because he will only be facing a biased audience. He further complained that only the case of Villar was being investigated, while other colleagues also have ethics issues. Villar's camp had earlier said that Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino should be accountable for the controversy surrounding another highway that passed through his family's land. Villar had refused to participate in the proceedings of the committee of the whole saying it was created to indict him. Cayetano added that Villar is willing to face a probe that will be done by an independent body. The senator further said that Villar had answered the issue on several instances. “Hindi po totoo na duwag ang isang tao porke namimili siya ng venue. Kung ayaw niya lang gamitin sa pulitika ang Senado hindi ibig sabihin, duwag siya," said Cayetano. (It’s not true that a person is coward just because he is choosing his venue. It doesn’t mean that he is coward just because he doesn’t want to use the Senate in politicking)." Enrile then said, "dapat siya pumunta dito para managot sa ating bahay dahil wala kaming pera na pambayad sa mga binabayaran niya (he should go here because we have no money to spend like what he is doing)." An acerbic exchange over 'insertions' In response to Cayetano, Senator Manuel Roxas stood up to say that the Senate majority is not ganging up on Villar. "Hindi tama na lalahatin mo na bakit si Villar lang ang te-take up in dito. E siya lang ang may kaso. Si Villar ang Senate committee finance chairman at Senate President noon... Senator Villar has an ethics case because he was the one who has alleged unethical conduct," he said. He added he and Liberal Party's presidential bet Senator Aquino were one with the minority bloc if indeed they were against corruption. "Ang tinatayuan namin ni Senador Noynoy Aquino, laban kami sa baluktot, laban kami sa tiwali, laban kami sa kurakot. Laban kami sa pang-aabuso ng ng kapangyarihan para sa pansariling interes. Iyon po ang ipinaglalaban namin. Ang aming party stand, consistent po iyan," Roxas said, repeating lines heard in his campaign speeches. Visibly annoyed, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr took his turn and said the sponsorship speech of Cayetano was being interrupted by Roxas' campaigning. "Ang nadinig natin hindi lang interpellation e kundi kampanya. You are expected to lead by example," he said. But Roxas said that he only wanted to clear his name and deny that they were ganging up on Villar. He countered he had no insertions or amendments in the proposed national budgets of years past, a pointed reference to allegations leveled against Villar. "I have no insertion on any matter. In fact, I have no insertion period because we were in the minority. Let alone an insertion for a road to pass through any such property," he said. In what could be regarded as the lowest point of the session, Pimentel replied: "Well, I'm sure that after your marriage you've had some insertions." [Roxas is newly married to TV host Korina Sanchez.] Roxas became livid. "I demand that that be removed from the record. That is an affront on my wife!" the senator bellowed. Pimentel subsequently asked that his remark be removed. 'Choo-choo train of lawyers' The caustic exchange did not stop there. Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal, who filed the original ethics complaint against Villar and is also running for president, called Villar a coward. Madrigal claimed that Villar was shielding himself from attacks through his “choo-choo train of lawyers." Pimentel shot back at Madrigal and called her an "abused child". When Madrigal dared Villar and the minority bloc to file a corruption case against her, Cayetano said, "Ang problema sa salimpusa gusto laging kasali siya (The problem with an uninvited playmate is that she always wants to be part of the game) ." In response, Madrigal pointed a finger at Cayetano and shouted, "Ang issue dito (The issue here is) corruption! Corruption! Corruption!" Taken aback, Cayetano was rendered speechless for a few moments while smiling. 'Villar should be like my father' Sen. Jinggoy Estrada tried to calm Madrigal down, while Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri called for a suspension of the session, hoping the tension would die down. But it didn’t when it resumed. Estrada stood up and challenged Villar to show up, and be brave enough like Jinggoy’s father Joseph, who faced impeachment proceedings in 2001. Jinggoy claimed that it was Villar who railroaded the impeachment case against his father when Villar was still House speaker. "Why can’t Sen. Manny Villar answer point by point the accusations hurled against him before the Senate?... Tutal lahat naman ginagaya na niya, ginaya niya ang kulay namin, ginaya niya ang maka-masa… Lahat po ginaya na niya. Bakit hindi pa niya gayahin na sagutin niya punto por punto ang lahat ng akusasyon laban sa kanya dito po sa loob ng Senado at huwag po siyang pupunta sa media…?" said Jinggoy. (Anyway, he has copied our campaign color, our pro-poor stance… He has copied everything. Why can’t he answer point by point the accusations hurled against him in the Senate without going to the media?) Villar is using orange as his campaign color, and is projecting himself to the public as pro-poor. Joseph Estrada had used the same campaign strategies, which helped him win in the 1998 presidential polls. The Senate adjourned its session before 7 p.m. after the sponsorship speech of Senator Joker Arroyo on Senate Resolution 1472. The session will resume Tuesday afternoon with Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago expected to deliver a speech to sponsor the same resolution. - with additional report from ARCS/HGS, GMANews.TV