WHEN politicians make a promise, chances are they’re lying, says a human rights lawyer leading a civil society group which calls itself Bantay Senado.
In a statement sent via email, lawyer Dino de Leon took a swipe at Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Erwin Tulfo over what he claimed as an imminent scrapping of a congressional inquiry into alleged anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig City.
“Ang daming dada, uurong din pala sa huli,” reads the headline of the statement farmed out to various media organizations.
De Leon, in his capacity as co-convenor of Bantay Senado criticized Tulfo, even as he warned that the move could be perceived as an attempt to protect Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano from public scrutiny.
“After all the accusations, denials and public exchanges, the Blue Ribbon committee would simply back down? Ang daming dada, uurong din pala sa huli?” he said.
Tulfo previously said that the panel was considering the idea of yielding the investigation to the Office of the Ombudsman to avoid a parallel probe. He said committee members would meet within the week to decide whether to formally drop the inquiry.
According to the lawyer, the Ombudsman investigation should not be used as an excuse for the Senate to abandon its constitutional duty to investigate the use of public funds in aid of legislation.
“The Ombudsman’s investigation seeks to determine possible criminal liability. A Senate inquiry serves a different purpose, which is to expose how public funds were allocated and spent, identify weaknesses in the budget process and recommend corrective legislation,” he averred.
De Leon warned that dropping the inquiry after Lacson’s revelations could fuel suspicions that a political accommodation had been reached to protect Cayetano.
“If the Blue Ribbon committee drops the probe without even holding a hearing, the public can reasonably perceive it as an attempt to shield Senator Cayetano and prevent the facts from coming out.”
De Leon also questioned whether the proposed “truce” between Lacson and Cayetano was part of a broader political deal within the Senate.
“What did the Cayetano bloc offer, and what did the majority ask for in return for this so-called truce?” he asked.
“A political truce cannot become a cover-up.”
