Enrile won’t intervene in Ping-Jinggoy word war

Even if it further divides the already-fragmented opposition, the Senate president for now will not lift a finger to intervene in the ongoing word war between senators Jose “Jinggoy" Estrada and Panfilo "Ping" Lacson over the latter’s accusation that Joseph Estrada was involved in corporate maneuver, smuggling, and jueteng operations during his presidency. “If it will cause further fracture, so be it. We cannot stop them. I never stopped anyone of my colleagues from exercising their rights as senators… It is the right of every senator to use the floor on a matter of privilege. You cannot stop that," Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile told reporters Tuesday at the sidelines of the Mining Philippines 2009 Conference and Exhibition at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City. He said he would wait for the issue to cool down before he steps into the fray. “We will try (to reconcile the two) but hindi muna ngayon. Mainit pa eh, palamigin mo muna ‘yung kaldero bago mo hawakan (We will try (to reconcile the two), but not now. It’s still hot, you should let the pot simmer down before you hold it)." On Monday, Lacson delivered a privilege speech on the ‘true’ character of Estrada, his former boss when the senator was still chief of the Philippine National Police. [See: Lacson declares all-out war vs ex-boss; Estrada fights back] After the speech Jinggoy, immediately took the floor to defend his father. He said he would deliver a speech Tuesday afternoon to answer Lacson's allegations point by point. Lacson said he would reveal more about Estrada's activities in his second speech next week. [See: Lacson's speech vs Erap to have ‘part 2’ next week] Enrile also refused to air his views about Lacson’s allegations against Estrada. “I cannot say that Ping has no basis neither can I say that he has a basis. I do not know the facts so let the other side speak out and if we can hear both sides then we can make an evaluation," he said. Enrile nevertheless said that the accusations would have a bearing on Estrada's possible presidential bid. “(B)ut the question is to what extent is the candidacy affected? How many votes will he lose? We do not know yet." “Everybody, all other candidates, will benefit out of it because the attack is now against Erap (Estrada’s nickname) if the followers of Erap are brittle but I don’t think they are brittle. Many of these people are committed to him," Enrile added. He added that it is better that the issues against Estrada came out this early while the campaign period is still months away. Asked to comment on Lacson’s claim that Enrile faced the same dilemma when he bolted the Marcos administration during Martial law, the Senate president said his case was different from that of Lacson. “Iba yung sa akin, eh. I served President Marcos. I went against President Marcos [and] gambled my life in doing so. There was a reason for it, I cannot disclose the reason. I’m going to disclose it in a book. It involved my life eh," Enrile said. Lacson had a falling out with Estrada when the senator decided to run for president against opposition standard-bearer, Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 elections. Enrile, however, did not question Lacson’s timing or motive for doing his exposé. “The timing is his choice. Of course those who are cynical will say why only now, while those who are open minded will say that he has kept it in his mind and heart for such a long period of time and he wants to unburden himself," Enrile said. “Many people will probably say that it was motivated by politics but Ping is no longer a candidate for public office, Erap is. I do not know the motive of Ping. On the other hand, he says that he is doing this for history and country so, presumptively, I have to take his word for it. We’ll have to see how things will go," he added. - Amita O. Legaspi, GMANews.TV