4 solons blast Jamby for ‘reckless attack’ on Speaker’s brod

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang's allies in the House of Representatives on Sunday said Sen. Ana Consuelo Madrigal was "desperate, childish and unthinking" in linking a brother of Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr. to a multibillion-peso swine scam. Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III (Kampi) "cautioned" Madrigal against dragging Speaker Nograles into the Senate investigation on the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp’s (Quedancor) failed swine project because of mere speculation. "A majority of the Members of the House of Representatives, both from the majority and the minority are holding her accountable for her reckless attack against the Speaker," Albano said in a statement posted on the House of Representatives Web site (www.congress.gov.ph). “Understandably, she has never acted like a Senator of the Republic and has always behaved like a childish brat." He said he was “not surprised with her latest stunt," Madrigal last week questioned the supposed fee received by Nograles' brother Jose, then an official of the Land Bank. She said Jose received P114-million for arranging a loan with Quedancor. Nograles' brother was appointed to head the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. in December 2007. For his part, Palawan Rep. Abraham Kahlil Mitra (NPC) said his own inquiry on the issue showed Madrigal was a victim of "disinformation" and she "gobbled it hook-line-and-sinker in her desperation to grab publicity." "That's the problem when you're up for re-election when you are a senator. You become too desperate to grab media attention," Mitra said. Mitra challenged Madrigal to publicly disclose her alleged documentary evidence linking the PDIC President to the swine scam and prove her claim that he was part of the ONL Consultancy, which structured the investment loan of Quedancor. "I have conducted my research on this and I have come to conclude that Senator Madrigal was just too gullible to believe the information that was fed to her by people who want her to drag the name of Speaker Nograles into the swine mess," Mitra said. “I really feel sorry for her, for her limited capacity to process information and see the difference between fact and fiction." Rep. Antonio Cerilles (NPC) said Jose Nograles signed the document as a counter-part witness representing Landbank, and Neils Ricanolla signed for Quedancor. The agreement was signed by then Landbank President and now Finance Secretary Gary Teves, then Landbank Executive Vice-President and now President Gilda Pico and other officers of Landbank as well as Nelson Buenaflor for Quedancor, he said. "Nograles was not even a main signatory to this agreement but a mere witness," Cerilles added. Oriental Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali (LP) also demanded that Madrigal publicly disclose her documentary evidence to dispute claims that she is making wild accusations just to get media mileage. "Senator Madrigal should present her proof without delay. The longer she prolongs this, the more reason for the public to believe that she's just imagining things. Her latest stunt to put the name of people in a bad light without checking her facts is very unthinking and very reckless," Umali said. Umali also chided Madrigal for having "very little idea of what she's talking about" when she claimed that the Speaker's brother charged a hefty amount of attorney's fees and notarial fees. "I've not seen anyone so desperate to get the attention of the media. It seems that Senator Madrigal is simply parroting the information being fed to her without even understanding what she's talking about," Umali said. “How can a non-lawyer like Jose Nograles charge attorney's fees and notarial fees? That's very basic information that should have already raised the alarm that she is being fed bad information or what we call kuryente," he said.- GMANews.TV