Lacson: Andaya lawyered for Neri during call for exec meet

Did the Senate hold executive session or not? Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said this has to be cleared by the upper chamber to find out if what happened after Wednesday’s hearing on the National Broadband Network (NBN) project could be freely shared to the public without any senator being punished for spilling the beans. Lacson said it wasn’t clear if an executive session transpired on Wednesday after three Senate committees leading the hearing called for such closed-door hearing so that Romulo Neri, former director general of the National Economic and Development Authoirity, could tell senators confidential information about the NBN project. Medyo malabo ‘yong nangyari sa executive session, parang hindi natuloy…’Yon ang gusto kong i-clarify sa committee. Ano ba nangyari, nagkaron ba kami ng executive session o hindi talaga nagkaroon? Kasi ang dapat lang nandoon sa loob ‘yong sergeant at arms, ‘yong stenographer, and of course ‘yong staff ng committee(s). Limitadong limitado dapat ang pupunta do’n (It’s not clear whether we held an executive session. It appeared that it did not push through. What really happened? If we had a session, only selected people should be there – the sergeant at arms, the stenographer and of course the staff of the Senate committees)," Lacson told radio dzBB in an interview on Sunday. However, Lacson confirmed earlier reports that Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya was at the senators’ lounge, where the executive session was supposed to be held. He said Andaya told senators he would lawyer for Neri. “Di ko alam eh. Nag-i-introduce siya as lawyer eh. Ayaw namin siyang paniwalaan (I don’t know. But he introduced himself as a lawyer and we didn’t want to believe him)," said Lacson when asked by dzBB if Andaya introduced himself as Neri’s lawyer or a representative of the Palace. GMANews.TV tried but failed to contact Andaya for him to air his side of the story. Sec. 11 of the Senate “Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation," states that: “Attendance at executive sessions shall be limited to members of the Committee, its staff, other Members of the Senate, and other persons whose presence is requested or allowed by the Chairman." The same section says that: “Testimony taken or material presented in an executive session, or any summary thereof, shall not be made public, in whole or in part, unless authorized by the Committee." He said it was not proper for Andaya to act as counsel for Neri. “Pero ang klaro do’n hindi pupuwedeng mag-counsel ang isang Cabinet official. ‘Yon ang malaking problema do’n, hindi talaga siya dapat pahintulutan na makialam o magbigay ng legal advice (But what is clear is that a Cabinet official must not act as Neri’s counsel. That’s the big problem. He should not be allowed to meddle in the issue or give legal advice)." Asked by dzBB if a senator allowed Andaya to enter the lounge, Lacson said: "Hindi ko narinig ‘yon eh. Hindi ko narinig na pinapasok siya. Basta balita lang na pinapasok siya ni Joker. Ako mismo, di ko nakita, di ko narinig na pinapasok si Sec. Andaya ni Joker (I didn’t hear that a senator allowed Andaya to the lounge. It was just reported that Sen. Joker Arroyo allowed Andaya to enter the lounge. But I did not witness that, I didn’t hear that Joker let Andaya in)." On September 26, the blue ribbon, defense and trade and commerce committees called for an executive session after more than 11 hours of grilling the resource persons on the $329.48-million NBN project with a China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. But the supposed closed-door session was reportedly canceled after senators observed that Neri was down with fever. On Sunday, Sen. Arroyo complained about a report published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which quoted sources as saying that he barred Neri from telling the rest of his explosive story on the alleged anomalous ZTE deal. The report said Sen. Arroyo intervened by making a motion to allow Neri to avail himself of the legal counsel of his choice before he makes his testimony. Quoting sources, the report also said Andaya entered the members-only Senator’s Lounge and supposedly acted as Neri’s lawyer. Sen. Arroyo told dzBB on Sunday that the report was “completely false." He said he would clarify the matter during the resumption of the Senate inquiry on the NBN deal. Meanwhile, Lacson said it was crucial that this issue be clarified to determine if the details of what really happened at the lounge could be made available to the public. “Siguro kung di kami nagkaroon ng executive session, puwedeng ilabas talaga ang napag-usapan do’n, kung anoman ‘yon, kung saan man humantong. Pero kung ang magiging desisyon ay talagang nagkaroon kami, ni isang information hindi puwedeng ilabas do’n (If we really didn’t have an executive session, I think what was talked about while we were at the lounge could be made available to the public. But if we did have a session, no single information should come out)," he said. - GMANews.TV