Source: PDI
MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV equally shared the burden
of identifying the powerful person behind ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia and backing this up with evidence, a senator said on Sunday.
Since Trillanes had claimed to have identified the powerful person to Malacañang, both the legislature and the executive department "shared the burden” of going public on the identity of this powerful person, Sen. Gregorio Honasan II said.
"If Malacañang was told about the name of the powerful person or the names of the powerful persons, then Malacañang now shares the burden,” he said in a phone interview.
But a disclosure of the identity should be backed by solid information that could stand the scrutiny of Congress and the public, and stand in court, the senator stressed.
(President Benigno Aquino III, through deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte, denied on Sunday ever meeting Trillanes to discuss the powerful person behind Garcia.)
"If we only have names, we might as well forget about it. Without information (evidence), what's the point?” Honasan said. "We can't just stop with names, whether coming from Trillanes or Malacañang.”
Trillanes earlier claimed that Garcia admitted to him that he was fronting for a powerful person while they were detained in the Philippine National Police camp, Garcia for plunder charges and Trillanes for coup d’ etat charges.
Since Garcia was scared to identify the person, Trillanes had passed on the information to Malacañang, Trillanes said in a Jan. 12 TV interview.
Trillanes initially tagged the late former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes as the powerful person. But he took this back last week after Reyes’ suicide, and said that military corruption could reach the level of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Arroyo's son, Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey” Arroyo, dared Trillanes to disclose the information at the Senate inquiry "if he has suspicions that he can substantiate with concrete evidence.”
At the opening of the Senate inquiry into Garcia's plea bargain and military corruption, Trillanes offered to help Garcia if he decided to spill the beans. But Garcia was firm, and said he was not applying to become state witness.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried but failed to reach Trillanes for comment.
Honasan, chair of the committees on public information, public order and agrarian reform, agreed that the powerful person must be named under certain conditions.
"It has to be named, and when you start naming names publicly, you must back it up with evidence that can stand the scrutiny... and the withering questioning of public opinion and the Senate,” he said.
"And we will presume that it will stand in court. It must be admissible as evidence so it could warrant conviction or acquittal. Absent such evidence, it will just continue to percolate, and it will die a natural death. Questions will be hanging in the air, and there will be no closure,” he added.
Backing up one's testimony or charges with pieces of documentation, testimonial or circumstantial evidence would be a "terrible burden” imposed on every citizen of the country, Honasan said.
"When you name names without proof, that is the height of irresponsibility,” he said, speaking in general terms.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile had the same view that Trillanes should be forthright about the identity of the powerful person, but be prepared with evidence.
"If he has suspicions, get the evidence and say so publicly, ‘Well, I have now evidence,' and present this to the committee, and then the committee chair can now decide to summon the persons involved,” Enrile said over radio.
Otherwise, Enrile said the Senate should not be used for witch-hunting.
"The Senate should not be used as a witch-hunter to the point that we are going to just smear people and fish evidence that is not there. If there is evidence implicating anybody, whether President or ordinary person, that evidence should be explained. If it's pure speculation, suspicion, that can't be. We will become uncontrollable searchers of evidence that may not really exist,” he said.
Drilon said that no evidence has been mentioned linking Arroyo to ex-budget officer George Rabusa's exposé on military corruption before the Senate blue ribbon committee.
"For now, there's no reason to invite her,” he said over radio, pointing out that if even such an evidence cropped up and warranted her appearance in the inquiry, it would still be her prerogative to appear, given the inter-parliamentary courtesy between the two chambers.
The Senate blue ribbon committee resumes its hearing on Friday, more than a week after Reyes' suicide prompted calls for the senators to change their confrontational tack of questioning and become more civil.
Reyes – who showed up as a resource person at the inquiry's opening on Jan. 27, but ended up being accused of pocketing millions of pesos from military funds – shot himself in the heart at his mother's grave in Marikina City last Tuesday.
By all means the inquiry should continue but ground rules on the conduct of hearing, whether written or unwritten, should be established, said Honasan, who has inhibited himself from the hearing because Garcia was his classmate at the Philippine Military Academy.
"Let's be civil. Let's not prejudice people whom we invite as resource persons. Let's not put them in a difficult place. All of a sudden, after inviting them as witnesses, they become the accused,” he said.
"Let's differentiate between in aid of legislation and what should be matters of the court to decide. When we name names, we mention the information that warrants mentioning these things, and later if this develops, the information may or may not be used by the courts for possible trial,” he said.
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MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV equally shared the burden
of identifying the powerful person behind ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia and backing this up with evidence, a senator said on Sunday.
Since Trillanes had claimed to have identified the powerful person to Malacañang, both the legislature and the executive department "shared the burden” of going public on the identity of this powerful person, Sen. Gregorio Honasan II said.
"If Malacañang was told about the name of the powerful person or the names of the powerful persons, then Malacañang now shares the burden,” he said in a phone interview.
But a disclosure of the identity should be backed by solid information that could stand the scrutiny of Congress and the public, and stand in court, the senator stressed.
(President Benigno Aquino III, through deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte, denied on Sunday ever meeting Trillanes to discuss the powerful person behind Garcia.)
"If we only have names, we might as well forget about it. Without information (evidence), what's the point?” Honasan said. "We can't just stop with names, whether coming from Trillanes or Malacañang.”
Trillanes earlier claimed that Garcia admitted to him that he was fronting for a powerful person while they were detained in the Philippine National Police camp, Garcia for plunder charges and Trillanes for coup d’ etat charges.
Since Garcia was scared to identify the person, Trillanes had passed on the information to Malacañang, Trillanes said in a Jan. 12 TV interview.
Trillanes initially tagged the late former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes as the powerful person. But he took this back last week after Reyes’ suicide, and said that military corruption could reach the level of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Arroyo's son, Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey” Arroyo, dared Trillanes to disclose the information at the Senate inquiry "if he has suspicions that he can substantiate with concrete evidence.”
At the opening of the Senate inquiry into Garcia's plea bargain and military corruption, Trillanes offered to help Garcia if he decided to spill the beans. But Garcia was firm, and said he was not applying to become state witness.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried but failed to reach Trillanes for comment.
Honasan, chair of the committees on public information, public order and agrarian reform, agreed that the powerful person must be named under certain conditions.
"It has to be named, and when you start naming names publicly, you must back it up with evidence that can stand the scrutiny... and the withering questioning of public opinion and the Senate,” he said.
"And we will presume that it will stand in court. It must be admissible as evidence so it could warrant conviction or acquittal. Absent such evidence, it will just continue to percolate, and it will die a natural death. Questions will be hanging in the air, and there will be no closure,” he added.
Backing up one's testimony or charges with pieces of documentation, testimonial or circumstantial evidence would be a "terrible burden” imposed on every citizen of the country, Honasan said.
"When you name names without proof, that is the height of irresponsibility,” he said, speaking in general terms.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile had the same view that Trillanes should be forthright about the identity of the powerful person, but be prepared with evidence.
"If he has suspicions, get the evidence and say so publicly, ‘Well, I have now evidence,' and present this to the committee, and then the committee chair can now decide to summon the persons involved,” Enrile said over radio.
Otherwise, Enrile said the Senate should not be used for witch-hunting.
"The Senate should not be used as a witch-hunter to the point that we are going to just smear people and fish evidence that is not there. If there is evidence implicating anybody, whether President or ordinary person, that evidence should be explained. If it's pure speculation, suspicion, that can't be. We will become uncontrollable searchers of evidence that may not really exist,” he said.
Drilon said that no evidence has been mentioned linking Arroyo to ex-budget officer George Rabusa's exposé on military corruption before the Senate blue ribbon committee.
"For now, there's no reason to invite her,” he said over radio, pointing out that if even such an evidence cropped up and warranted her appearance in the inquiry, it would still be her prerogative to appear, given the inter-parliamentary courtesy between the two chambers.
The Senate blue ribbon committee resumes its hearing on Friday, more than a week after Reyes' suicide prompted calls for the senators to change their confrontational tack of questioning and become more civil.
Reyes – who showed up as a resource person at the inquiry's opening on Jan. 27, but ended up being accused of pocketing millions of pesos from military funds – shot himself in the heart at his mother's grave in Marikina City last Tuesday.
By all means the inquiry should continue but ground rules on the conduct of hearing, whether written or unwritten, should be established, said Honasan, who has inhibited himself from the hearing because Garcia was his classmate at the Philippine Military Academy.
"Let's be civil. Let's not prejudice people whom we invite as resource persons. Let's not put them in a difficult place. All of a sudden, after inviting them as witnesses, they become the accused,” he said.
"Let's differentiate between in aid of legislation and what should be matters of the court to decide. When we name names, we mention the information that warrants mentioning these things, and later if this develops, the information may or may not be used by the courts for possible trial,” he said.
