Senate panel mulling written interrogation for Mike Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Thursday said that the Senate economic affairs committee may issue its questions to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in connection with his alleged involvement in the purported bribery and collusion in World Bank-funded projects. In an interview with reporters, Santiago said that the committee would first have to determine whether the documents produced during the Senate panel hearing by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez could provide evidence that would nail the First Gentleman in the anomaly. "Well, apparently, there is a consensus among senators today that he should be given a written set of questions that's called interrogatories, but only after we have evidence because so far, there is no evidence," Santiago said. During the resumption of the Senate economic panel hearing, Gutierrez presented a " thick folder from the World Bank," which contained documents on the road projects under the first phase of the National Roads Improvements and Management Program (NRIMP-1). "We still have to scrutinize it and maybe it can serve as basis. This is called the Philippine NRIMP evidence," she told senators at a hearing on the mess. But Gutierrez requested that the Senate panel examine "the documents that we received in an executive session" because of a "quandary" on whether to divulge its contents because of the confidentiality of the documents. The First Gentleman did not attend Thursday's hearing, citing his health condition. Dr. Antonio Sibulo, head of St. Luke's Medical Center's heart institute, told the Senate panel that Mr. Arroyo would be subject to mental stress that could worsen his delicate medical condition. Sibulo also said that a deposition via an oral interrogation would also be stressful to his client, who had repeatedly denied any involvement in the mess. In the interview with reporters, Santiago said that it is up to the panel to determine whether it would divulge the contents of the documents Gutierrez presented, adding that it is not bound by the confidentiality the World Bank demands. "It could become a collision between the World Bank rules of confidence and the rules of fairness, specifically the rules of court in our country," she also noted. Dissatisfied Santiago also expressed dissatisfaction over how the hearing turned out because no evidence on alleged collusion among contractors were produced. "Today's hearing was a complete waste of time," Santiago said. Earlier in the hearing, those implicated in the mess – two former lawmakers, an incumbent and a former Public Works and Highways official – all denied any involvement in the supposed collusion of contractors bidding for WB-backed projects. Former Negros Oriental Rep. Jerome Paras and former Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay denied taking part in the bid-rigging controversy and then Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Florentino Soriquez and current DPWH public management office staff Augusto "Tito" Miranda also belied the contents in a World Bank report that cited testimonies of witnesses linking them to the mess. Open your bank accounts For his part, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano dared the First Gentlemen to take his cue from an embattled Department of Justice prosecutor and bare his bank accounts to be scrutinized by investigators in connection with the so-called Alabang Boys controversy. To recall, DOJ state prosecutor John Resado on Wednesday said he was willing to open his bank accounts if it will not be divulged to the public. Resado has been accused of receiving bribes for his recommendation to dismiss the drug case against three drug suspects. "Maybe the First Gentleman should allow also the opening of his accounts and other investments just like Resado. What is good for Resado is just as good for the First Gentleman. This is a political demand rather than a legal demand," Cayetano said during the hearing. In a separate interview with reporters, Cayetano said he was not in favor of holding a deposition from Mr. Arroyo. He added that those implicated in the mess that have made denials "are not yet off the hook" pending scrutiny of the documents Gutierrez submitted. - GMANews.TV