Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Davao guvs ask: What cash gift? By Ben O. Tesiorna
THREE of the four governors in the Davao Region said they did not receive anything from Malacañang during a meeting last week even as two of them admitted having attended the meeting.
Three governors, all from Luzon, admitted having received P500,000 from a Palace staff after their meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In a text message to this reporter Monday, Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Ra Cagas said he attended the Malacañang meeting, but left early, and that he did receive whatever cash gift the Palace gave to the governors.
Cagas said though that if there really was cash gift intended for those who attended the meeting, then he will accept it because his province needs it badly.
"Wala pa ko kadawat. Akong kuhaon kung naa pa kay akong kinahanglanon (I haven't received such cash gift, but I am willing to accept it because we need it)," Cagas said.
Compostela Valley Governor Arturo "Chiongkee" Uy, on the other hand, was not able to attend the meeting. He admitted though that if there were cash gifts for them, he would also accept it since it would translate to a lot of projects.
Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon said she attended the meeting but was not offered any cash gift.
"There was no money," she said.
Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio made public that he received such amount from Malacañang last week.
The former priest admitted receiving the money, saying there was no indications during the meeting that the money was intended to persuade governors to support or junk an impeachment complaint against Arroyo.
Panlilio clarified that he accepted the money without thinking that it was a bribe as he was initially advised that it would be used for community projects.
Panlilio Monday urged Malacañang to reveal the source of a P500,000 "cash gift" handed to him by a man inside the presidential palace last Thursday.
Panlilio said his office will ask Malacañang, through a letter, for an official receipt and a clarification where the money came from.
He said he will return the money if he does not receive a response.
He said the money would be kept in a vault pending a reply from Malacañang. He said he would use the money for public projects once Malacañang has responded to his request for proper documentation of the money.
On this note, Senator Panfilo Lacson lauded Panlilio for his honesty in spilling the beans on the payoffs Malacañang gave to local officials at a meeting last week, even as he urged other recipients to be decent enough to give taxpayers an accounting of the distributed money.
"Now we see hope as we wish that there were more Governor Panlilios - truthful and decent enough to give us, the taxpayers of this country, an accounting of the monies distributed by Malacañang, obviously in connection with the recent threat to impeach the President," he said.
Lacson said that with no less than the local head of President Arroyo's home province baring the details, he will file a resolution seeking a Senate investigation into the matter.
He will also inquire into the source of the funds before the plenary once the P1.227-trillion proposed budget for 2008 reaches the Senate for deliberation.
"Now that a governor, no less than the local head of the President's home province, has provided firsthand public testimony that money changed hands, it is appropriate to determine where the money came from. If it was from the personal funds of Mrs. Arroyo, there should be an explanation of its source in her income tax returns (ITR) and Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN)," he said.
But if the funds were public money as Panlilio believes, Lacson said Malacañang should show transparency by coming out with the appropriate disbursement vouchers and disclosing where the distributed money was sourced from.
He also dared Malacañang to show its "transparency" by cooperating this time, instead of invoking "executive privilege."
"Malacañang is so fond of saying it is transparent, it should at least give us the list of local officials present at that meeting. We can invite them to the investigation. If they want to deny the allegations, they can do so. If they want to lie under oath, it's up to them," he said.
Lacson lamented that until Panlilio's disclosure, the government has shown itself to be a giant criminal syndicate, complete with omerta (code of silence) and intimidation of potential whistleblowers, as in the case of former socio-economic planning secretary Romulo Neri.
"Secretary Neri did not ask for it but he was given so-called security aides. Yet the aides are not there to secure him but to keep an eye on him to make sure he does not spill the beans on the $329.5-million ZTE broadband network deal mess," he said. (With Press release)
