Senators Dick, Pia, and more…

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Villar and Lacson's disappearing acts

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January 2010: Backstabbing begins

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Senate Christmas 2009

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“What is the possibility of Manila Bay being hit by a tsunami?” Senator Dick Gordon asked in jest officials of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) during the recent Senate inquiry on disaster management. He added, “We just might get washed away and all that will be left is the Lower House! We don’t want that to happen!”

In the same hearing, Senator Gordon bothered to clarify, “The Cherry Hills incident, not the singer Cherrie Gil!”

Senators sometimes have to resort to light-hearted banter to spice up seriously depressing topics like calamities.

On the other hand, Senate Committee on Health Chair Senator Pia Cayetano couldn’t help but raise her voice in frustration when the Department of Health official testifying on bills relative to breast and cervical cancer awareness and early detection assistance bragged, “We already furnished the local government officials our breast cancer awareness project short of selling it to them.”

“That’s not what I want to hear; I want to know about the implementation, your joint efforts. Is there something going on already?” Senator Pia lashed out.

At the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) hearing chaired by Senator Gringo Honasan, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile said he had two properties in Basilan planted with sugar and fruit trees but had to sell them because of the CARP. He emphasized that it took the LandBank three to five years before he got paid for his land.

Enrile said as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, he is against buying more land for CARP. Rather, government should be engaged in developing existing lands already under agrarian reform.

In the same hearing, Senator Migs Zubiri related his family’ experience who gave up 2,000 hectares of land in Bukidnon, only to find out later that the beneficiaries resold the land to people who were never even from Bukidnon. Senator Migs said that prior to the hearing, he was a guest of coconut farmers who complained that CARP hampered their desire to produce more for biofuels.

Surprising DAR officials present in the hearing, Senator Rodolfo Biazon showed them a thick bunch of documents, all titles to adjoining properties in Mexico, Pampanga originally owned by CARP beneficiaries who later sold their land to a big developer merely two years after they acquired the land; this could be illegal because the law requires a 10-year ownership period. The loud buzz inside the room was that Biazon was referring to the Lakeshore Development site that can be seen when travelling along the North Luzon Expressway.

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Nowadays, a regular customer at the Senator’s Lounge is whistle-blower Dante Madriaga usually in a huddle with his buddies from the Association of Whistle-Blowers led by jueteng [illegal numbers game] whistle-blower Sandra Cam.

Now the issue of the amount being spent to “protect” them from the very law enforcement agencies that is duty bound to secure the citizenry is dividing the Senate.

Unknown to many, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Ret. Gen. Jose Balajadia faithfully furnishes the three committee chairs – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano of the Blue Ribbon Committee, Senator Mar Roxas of the Committee on Trade and Commerce, and Senator Biazon of the Committee on National Defense and Security – a weekly update on the activities and places where ZTE-NBN star witness Jun Lozada goes.

Senator Enrile is right in questioning the ballooning expenses for “protecting” Lozada. Senator Pimentel chimed in by issuing a statement saying he intends to go over like a fine-toothed comb the expenses incurred over Lozada’s “protection.”

Senator Ping Lacson disagrees with his peers, citing that future witnesses might be hesitant to appear at Senate hearings if Lozada is not treated well by the Senate committees.

Senator Biazon believes that expenses should be limited to Lozada’s official trips, and not include his traipsing all over the country as if on a political campaign.

Cam cried foul, almost calling the Honorable Senators “ingrates” for making a mountain out of a molehill on expenses for the witnesses. She reminded them that these witnesses staked their lives and that of their families’ by publicly coming out at the Senate inquiries.

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It’s been very busy at the Senate, what with the forthcoming long recess again from June 12 to July 27.

Meanwhile, a Malacañang reporter was bragging to the Senate staffers that his recent Bohol trip with the President was something else because of the experience of staying at the luxurious resort allegedly owned by Brunei’s Sultan Bolkiah called Garden Square. It is as beautiful as it is expensive. Entrance fee alone is US$100 per person.

Wow! To work in such grand and lavish surroundings while we kibitzers in the Senate have to bear lengthy Senate hearings where not even a bottle of mineral water is served to guests and media by the host committee chair who is supposed to be receiving about half a million pesos in funds just for the expense of his or her committee.

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