Enrile: Senate session won’t tackle C5, only national canvass

Senator Manuel Villar Jr. can heave a sigh of relief, at least for now, as the Senate has no plan to discuss the report of the committee of the whole on the C5 road project controversy when the Congress resumes its session this month. "The purpose of the Joint Session is only to canvass. I don’t think we can dispose of any other matter," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile himself said Thursday during a weekly news forum. The Senate and House of Representatives will convene as the National Board of Canvassers to proclaim the country's new president and vice president, as one of the outgoing Congress’ constitutionally-mandated acts before it is replaced on June 30 by the newly-elected 15th Congress. Enrile said that the Senate will not tackle the report on the alleged road anomaly. (See: Senate panel to Villar on C-5: Return P6.22-B fund to govt) The chamber also has yet to tackle a resolution signed by Villar’s allies clearing him from the charges. (See: 12 senators want ethics case vs Villar dismissed) Before the Senate adjourned its session in February, some senators said they would try to put closure on the issue when the session resumes this month. But Enrile said issues that would cause further division in the Senate should not be discussed now. “We should quiet the country instead of causing divisions. We just got through a rigorous campaign which divided the country. Now, it’s time to heal it," he said. “All of these issues must be set aside. I am only a presiding officer in that case. I have no special, personal interest in it," he added. Senate presidency Despite Villar’s defeat in the presidential race, all is not lost for him as he will return to the Senate to finish the last three years of his six-year term, although he did not say if he plans to regain the Senate presidency, which was wrested from him by Enrile with his allies in the chamber. Villar, standard bearer of Nacionalista Party, has conceded to Liberal Party presidential bet Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III who has lead in the uncanvassed Commission on Elections tally since it started on May 10. (See: 5 presidential bets concede defeat, congratulate Noynoy) The Senate will elect its new President at the opening of the 15th Congress in July. When Enrile was asked if he will make himself available for the Senate Presidency again, he said he will leave the decision to his colleagues. “I did not seek this position. It’s up to the members of the Senate to decide who they want to become the Senate President.…It is up to them if they think I can handle the job but I will not actively look for it," he said.—JV, GMANews.TV