Senate word war bewailed, damage control proposed

PASAY CITY (PinoyNews) – The personal attacks and counter-attacks by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Miriam Defensor Santiago over several issues, including the distribution of funds, have tarnished the good image of the Philippine Senate.
This seemed to be the consensus among lawmakers themselves and citizens, thus the need to make a major repair on the damage done on the good image of the Senate which largedly improved during the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona. 
Senator Panfilo Lacson said the Senate absorbed so much damage from the word war between Enrile and Cayetano and Senator
 Defensor Santiago.
Lacson said the controversy has also affected the integrity of Enrile himself after the latter mentioned the alleged P37 million debt Cayetano’s farther, the late senator Renato  Cayetano.
”Honestly, he (Enrile) absorbed more damage in that exchange of words. It is not proper to revive issue involving dead person,” Lacson said.
If the recent word war between Enrile and Cayetano would lead to change of leadership, Lacson said it can be done at the start of the next 16th Congress.
”We have only six days left (in the present 15th Congress). If we will change leadership now, more pending bills will be affected including AMLA amendments which President Aquino wanted for Congress to pass,” Lacson said.
Lacson was one of the 11 senators who opposed the motion of Enrile to declare Senate presidency vacant
For one, Senator  Lacson said the Senate needs ‘evisceration’ to repair the damages brought by the controversy on the use of Senate funds.
“I think the Senate needs evisceration to
really clean the toxin and apply necessary remedy,” Lacson said in a radio dzBB interview.
Lacson said one of the best remedies he can recommend is to open the Senate funds to audit specially the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and cash gifts released to the senators by the Senate President last December.
”I think we have to open the Senate and our own offices for audit by the Commission on Audit,” Lacson, who never availed his P200 million annual PDAF (priority development assistance fund) in his eight years of service as senator, said.
While he suggested to open themselves for audit, Lacson said he opposed Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s suggestion for parallel audit by the COA and private or independent auditing firm.
”I have reservation on that suggestion because it has constitutional issues, it will have legal problem because the government auditor is COA,” Lacson explained.
He said that if Cayetano would push for his call for parallel audit, Lacson said he would introduce amendment excluding private auditing firm to parallel audit.
 Cayetano disclosed his plan to file a resolution to formalize his call for an audit by an independent private firm.
But he clarified  that such an audit could possibly entail: (1) an audit by an independent firm parallel to Commission of Audit’s (COA) own audit; (2) a sole audit conducted by a private firm independent of COA; or (3) an independent people’s audit.
“I just want Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to answer two things: (1) How was the P250,000 liquidated; and (2) From the P2 billion Senate budget, how much was liquidated by certification alone,” he said.
“What I’m saying is that we don’t need a professional audit or for every single centavo of the P2 billion Senate budget to be audited. I just want the public to be given a chance to look into the Senate books and see that we are doing the right thing and that we have nothing to hide. Whatever kind of audit that could bring that about is alright with me,” he said.
He dismissed claims that having such an audit done is not possible under the Constitution.
“There is no Constitutional or legal impediment to a private audit. I can tell COA that there have been instances in the past where a private audit was paid by a government entity and there was no legal impediment,” he said.
The minority leader assured COA Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan that it was not his intention to cast doubt on the integrity of the agency. Instead, he wants to ensure that COA’s integrity is not questioned during the conduct of the audit since some COA commissioners have yet to be appointed by the Commission on Appointments (CA), a panel headed by Senator Enrile.
“What I’m asking for is transparency and accountability. I’d like to let COA know that the people and the members of the Senate have full trust in you. I’m only saying that we have nothing to lose but everything to gain if we have a parallel audit conducted to settle this issue,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be a technical, legal audit. Just bring out the documents so that the people will find out the truth,” he added.
Cayetano also reiterated his call to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and his fellow senators to stick to the real issue of transparency in the liquidation and certification of funds in the Senate and not resort to squid tactics to divert attention away from the main issue.
“While the arguments seemingly went to the gutter, let us go back to the real issue that has everything to do with the integrity and independence of the Senate,” he said.
Last Monday, Enrile vacated his post to allow anyone who is against him to takeover but his colleagues refused to allow the Senate President to quit his post.
The controversy on the use of Senate funds sparked early this month when Senator Santiago complained that she did not receive P1.6 million additional MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses).
But Santiago as well as three other senators – Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes III and senator Pia Cayetano received the P250,000 cash gifts. Santiago returned his cash gifts.
Cayetano questioned even the release of P250,000 cash gifts, saying it has no attached voucher.
Lacson is hoping that the controversy on the use of Senate funds would bring positive results in the Senate.
”I’d like to think this crisis should bring good result. We have to make positive steps to improve this situation” Lacson said.