Senate fails to tackle Villar report due to lack of quorum

The fate of presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Villar remained in limbo after the Senate on Tuesday failed to discuss the committee report sanctioning him for allegedly earning from government road extension project due to lack of quorum. Only 10 senators were present in the session hall when 12 are needed for a quorum. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the absence of some senators were deliberate to prevent the chamber from discussing the report, which is asking Villar, among others, to return the P6.22 billion his corporations allegedly obtained from the C5 road project. “I think this is a maneuver of some sort," Enrile said. “We have a very sensitive matter to discuss so I suppose they are allergic to it." Enrile headed the committee of the whole that investigated Villar The senators who were absent due to “official business" were Ramon Revilla Jr, Francis Pangilinan, Pilar Juliana Cayetano, Loren Legarda and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, meanwhile, was not feeling well. Those who were absent without any notice were Senators Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Alan Peter Cayetano, Lito Lapid and Villar. Senator Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, informed Enrile through a letter that he would not be attending the sessions. Villar’s hand Enrile blamed Villar for “maneuvering" the 11 senators not to attend Tuesday’s session. “To subvert the Senate, to maneuver members of the Senate not to attend [the session] so that this report could not be known to the public is a disservice by this candidate for the presidency to the Filipino people that he wants to serve," Enrile told reporters. He said what happened in the Senate on Tuesday was “a very telling indication" of what kind of presidential candidate Villar is. Villar or anybody from his camp is yet to comment on Enrile’s accusation as of posting time, but in a statement released Monday, NP spokesman Gilbert Remulla said the release of the committee report was politically motivated. “With the report we sense the desperation in the rivals of Senator Villar for the presidency and their fear of a truly independent leader who will fight for the poor in our beloved country," Remulla said. The case stemmed from the ethics complaint filed by Sen. Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal, another presidential aspirant. Don’t push me Enrile, however, could not say if sanctions could be meted to the absent senators. “We will come to that when we have to. I hope they will not underestimate my notion of what a president of a chamber like this can do," he said. Sen. Manuel Roxas II, the running mate of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, urged Enrile not to allow senators to go on leave during the seven remaining session days. Enrile, in response, ordered all request for official business to be referred to his office first for consideration. The Congress would adjourn its session by the end of the month to allow candidates to prepare for the May 10 elections. Senate Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy" Estrada said that no matter how important or urgent the engagements of the senators are, they should not be subordinate to the highest interest of the Senate. “The affairs of the nation should not be allowed to wait. The senators are elected to legislate and not be guest speakers outside of the Senate. The business of legislation weighs far more," he said. Aside from the committee report, the Senate was supposed to take up the proposed Immigration bill. Findings The committee report stated that there is substantial evidence that Villar is a major stockholder of Adelfa Properties Inc, which owns Golden Haven Memorial Park and Azalea Real Estate Corporation (now Britanny Corporation), and was the proponent of Las Piñas-Parañaque Link Road project and the government's C-5 road extension project. It said the road projects were made to pass through the properties of the corporations of Villar following a curved, instead of a straight, alignment. It also said that the alignment of the C-5 road extension segment of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project had to be changed just to accommodate the alignments of the Las Piñas-Parañaque and C-5 extension projects. Villar's corporations allegedly received road right-of-way compensation and still have unpaid claims. It said the properties of Villar that were acquired were given zonal valuation for different areas, thus increasing the compensation due them. It also said that Villar failed to avoid a conflict-of-interest situation by not divesting himself of his shareholdings or interest in the mentioned corporations. It added that Villar used his power to satisfy the interest of his corporations. - KBK, GMANews.TV