De Lima to Alvarez - Stop judging me

Sen. Leila De Lima on Monday told House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to stop judging her character, her first reaction to the revelation to the public that the House leader has an extramarital affair.

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In a dispatch from Camp Crame, where she is detained on drug charges for her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade, De Lima said that she did not want to rub it in despite persistent requests for her comments on the controversy Alvarez has become mired in.

De Lima said that her only message for the speaker, one of her most vocal critics, was for him to stop perpetuating lies about her alleged connection to the trade of illegal narcotics in the country.

“I just have this message for the Speaker - Please stop judging me on my 'true character'. You don’t know me,” she said, adding that if he wanted to know her, the speaker should ask people who really knew her character.

“Just ask please people who do. So please desist from perpetuating the lies about my alleged drug links. The people who truly know me will tell you it’s an absolute nonsense,” the detained senator wrote.

Alvarez has been one of the most vocal and fiercest critics of De Lima.

In one congressional hearing into the senator’s alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade at the New Bilibid Prison, Alvarez defended fellow representatives after they were severely criticized for asking Ronnie Dayan, the senator’s former driver and lover, highly personal questions about their relationship.

The speaker said in defending his colleagues last year: ““Yung pagka-babae, ito ang tanong ko sa kanila: Bakit hindi nila kinonsider yung asawa ni Ronnie Dayan? Babae yun! Sa tingin ko siya yung agrabyado dito. Yung paggamit ng mga subordinates mo, di ba sexual harassment yun?”

It was however recently revealed that Alvarez himself is involved in an extramarital relationship after he filed a corruption charge against Davao Del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr.

It has been alleged that the complaint was filed because of an altercation last year between the two congressmen’s girlfriends. Alvarez has denied that this is the reason for his complaint.

The speaker has since admitted to having a girlfriend and to siring eight children by different relationships.

“Hindi na po, hindi na po. Ganito kasi yun para hindi na kayo mahirapan. Noong first marriage ko, meron kaming dalawang anak. Sa second, apat tapos meron pa, dalawa,” he explained in a radio interview last week.

De Lima said that she “courteously” denied to comment on the travails of the speaker, saying that it was not right to rub the issues in.

“I don’t feel right rubbing it in even as I note that many people esp. netizens have been boisterously expressing their thoughts on this scandal. I also note there is righteous indignation,” she said.

Her message for the speaker was: “I pray for the Speaker's peace of mind.”

Source : PhilStar

How many lawmakers are without affairs? - Rody defends Alvarez

MANILA, Philippines - Amid threats of disbarment over his extramarital affairs, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has found a defender in President Duterte.

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“Ilan ang lawmakers na may dalawa, tatlong babae (How many lawmakers have two, three women)?” the President asked yesterday. “Lahat kami wala nang ranggo pag ganon. Sino ba’ng walang kaligayahan (We will all lose our positions if that’s the case. Who has no source of joy)?”

He also accused Alvarez’s critics of hypocrisy, claiming that even priests, who are supposed to be celibate, have girlfriends.

This developed as administration lawmakers yesterday urged Alvarez and Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr. to settle their quarrel so as not to derail Duterte’s legislative agenda.

Alvarez last week accused Floirendo’s Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco), a banana exporting company, of having an anomalous
contract with the government. But reports said their feud stemmed from an altercation between the Speaker’s mistress and Floirendo’s live-in partner.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo of the second district called on lawmakers to “exert all efforts to patch up the differences between the two influential figures in the House of Representatives so as not to derail the legislative agenda of the President.”

Rep. Alfred Vargas of Quezon City’s fifth district reminded that lawmakers “still have so much to do” so they should not lose sight of their mandate and set aside personal differences.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers believes that Alvarez and Floirendo will eventually bury the hatchet.

“In my view, it will be resolved sooner than we think. You know, guys are just like that,” Barbers said. “Personally, I don’t think this issue will divide the House and derail the legislative agenda.”

Alvarez: Tonyboy must explain lopsided deal first

But Alvarez is apparently hell-bent on pursuing the House probe he initiated and the graft charges he filed against Floirendo, his former best friend.

“Ipaliwanag niya muna itong ma-anomalyang transaction niya sa gobyerno. Iyang friendship madali na lang iyan (He should explain first his anomalous transaction with the government. The friendship is easy),” he said.

“My friendship with him ends where my loyalty to my country begins,” he added.

Under the 25-year joint venture agreement that is expected to lapse in 2028, Tadeco has committed to give the Bureau Corrections (BuCor) P26.541 million per year or a lease rate of P5,000 per hectare for the 5,308 hectares in Davao Prison and Penal Farm.

Tadeco also pegged the government’s share from Tadeco’s banana exports at P1.3258 per box or just 0.22 percent of a box of bananas with an average price of P600 per box in the market.

The pro-Duterte watchdog group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) backed the House probe initiated by Alvarez as well as the graft charges he filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against Floirendo’s Tadeco.

VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez said the terms on land rentals and profit share signed between Tadeco and the Davao penal colony in May 2003 were “grossly disadvantageous to the government.”

Jimenez said the national government should be getting at least P1 billion in rent and P900 million in profit share annually from Tadeco over its joint venture agreement with BuCor over the long-term lease of 5,308 hectares in Davao penal colony.

He said similar developed agricultural lands will fetch as much as P200,000 per hectare. In Tadeco’s case, it should be paying the government up P1.061 billion per year.

“With an en estimated annual sales of 30 million boxes per year, the government would only be getting P40.584 million annually versus Tadeco’s annual revenues of P18 billion,” he added.

Alvarez also wants the 5,308.36 hectares in the penal farm to be open for bidding to interested parties.

“It should be opened up for bidding so other groups or companies could also bid for it to ensure that government earns much more than what it is getting now from the Floirendos,” Alvarez told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday.

He said the Floirendos could also participate in the bidding if it pushes through as one of the interested parties.

Alvarez has refused to acknowledge Floirendo’s offer for them to settle their differences like “real gentlemen” following reports that their feud stemmed from an altercation between the Speaker’s mistress and Floirendo’s live-in partner.

“It was not his statement, it was the statement of his public relations staff. If they want that issue (altercation between their mistresses), let’s talk about it on a separate venue, perhaps in a parlor. I don’t want to dignify it because the government is not benefitting from it,” he said.

He also responded to the query from the public as to why he is seeking a House probe on Tadeco’s joint venture agreement with the Bureau of Corrections and Davao penal colony after more than a decade had passed.

“Why only now? Because they have been hiding that contract for a long time,” he said.

In an earlier statement, Floirendo said he has not committed any wrongdoing.

Source: PhilStar

Alvarez insists on separation of powers as he pushes for Leni impeachment

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday invoked the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches in proceeding with the impeachment of Vice President Leni Robredo.

This, despite the statement of President Duterte discouraging his allies from pursuing the impeachment of the vice president.

Alvarez in particular protested Robredo's statements criticizing the war on drugs before the United Nations, saying it may be a basis for her impeachment.

"Mayroon kaming mandato, although ginagalang ko yung statement ng ating Pangulo, pero alam nating lahat mayroon kaming mandato sa ilalim ng Saligang Batas na kung saan ay kami po ang may exclusive jurisdiction para po dinggin yung lahat ng inihain na impeachment against any impeachable official, at ito po ay gagampanan namin po," Alvarez told radio DZMM's Noli De Castro.

Asked about the President's position against Robredo's impeachment, he said,"Naririnig ko lang po yun doon sa mga press statement niya pero ito naman Kabayan, alam naman nating lahat na may separation of powers."

At the same time, he said the House will also tackle the impeachment complaint filed by Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano against the President over the extrajudicial killings in the war on drugs and allegations of corruption.

"Didinggin din namin yun, Kabayan. We have to process all impeachment cases. Wala tayong magagawa, Kabayan, may mandato ang Saligang Batas, mayroong nag-file ng impeachment, kailangan naming i-process," he said.

The Speaker also guaranteed that the impeachment complaints will not affect the legislative agenda of the House since priority bills can be farmed out to different committees.

"Madali po iyun Kabayan, dahil naman mayroon kaming mga independent committees na magdidinig ng mga panukalang batas na iyan," he said.

Source : ABS-CBN

Speaker calls Robredo shameless, to pursue impeachment

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday said he would still push through with the impeachment of Vice President Leni Robredo even without President Rodrigo Duterte’s support.

In a text message to reporters, Alvarez said the lower house, dominated by a supermajority of administration allies, should also do its mandate under the Constitution.

“We respect the President, but we have to do our duty as mandated by the Constitution.” Alvarez said.

This even though Duterte thumbed down the impeachment of his vice president and said Robredo’s criticisms of his administration’s drug war were part of freedom of expression.

In a separate television interview, Alvarez slammed Robredo for her alleged impeachable offense of taking to the United Nations her criticisms of the administration’s bloody war on drugs.

He said although it was part of Robredo’s freedom of speech to make criticisms, it was “irresponsible” for her to paint a dire picture of the country before the international community.

“Freedom of speech does not exempt an official from an irresponsible act,” Alvarez said.

He said it may be the first time in the country’s history for a vice president to do such an act.

“First time sa kasaysayan na may opisiyal na makapal ang mukha. Nagpadala ng video sa UN para siraan ang ating bansa. Nasaan ang kaniyang patriotism, love of country?” Alvarez said.

(It may be the first time in our country’s history for us to have an official that shameless. She even sent a video to the UN to destroy our country’s image. Where is her patriotism, her love of country?).

The Speaker said he has yet to hear from a group of lawyers and professors who are mulling an impeachment complaint against Robredo for betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution and other high crimes.

Impeachment moves against Robredo gained traction since Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano filed an impeachment complaint against President Duterte for the latter’s alleged hand in the vigilante killings by the Davao Death Squad and the spate of extrajudicial killings at the height of his administration’s war on drugs, as well as his alleged P2.2 billion hidden wealth.

Alvarez led criticisms that Robredo was behind the impeachment, noting that the filing of Magdalo’s impeachment complaint coincided with her message to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs blasting the administration’s narcotics war.

In her video, Robredo  exposed the alleged “palit ulo” scheme where poor families were rounded up by the police who would then demand that relatives  be taken in exchange for the accused drug personalities if the latter were missing.

The first impeachment complaint was endorsed for the Speaker’s support by Marcos loyalists Oliver Lozano and Melchor Chavez.

Source : Inquirer.net

Alvarez ready to act on Robredo impeachment case

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez seems hell-bent on impeaching Vice President Leni Robredo, suggesting he’s prepared to defy President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to his allies to “let her be,” and describing her as a thick-skinned official who has betrayed the public trust.

“We respect the opinion of the President, but we are mandated by the Constitution to process any impeachment complaint that is submitted to the House of Representatives,” Alvarez said in a television interview on Thursday. “We have separation of powers.”

Marcos loyalists Oliver Lozano and Melchor Chavez earlier submitted to the Speaker’s office an impeachment complaint alleging that Robredo betrayed the public trust when she submitted a six-minute video criticizing the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs to the 60th United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna last week.

Any citizen may file an impeachment complaint provided it is endorsed by a member of the House so the case against Robredo is not yet considered filed.

Careful study

“We are still studying it carefully, because this is not just a numbers game. We need substance, meaning to say the complaint should be complete with evidence, so that it can stand trial in an impeachment court. That’s it,” Alvarez said.

But he appeared to agree with Lozano and Chavez on at least one point—that Robredo acted irresponsibly in criticizing the government’s bloody war on drugs before a UN-affiliated body.

“Yes, it’s true she’s entitled to freedom of speech. But it does not exempt any official from an irresponsible act,” he said.

“And if you watched it, it was so irresponsible. For the first time in the history of the Philippines, such a thick-skinned official of government submitted a clip to the United Nations to destroy the country. That, for me, is a betrayal of public trust,” Alvarez said.

 ‘Guys, lay off’

Speaking to reporters shortly after his arrival on Thursday from official visits to Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand, Mr. Duterte urged his allies in Congress to stop moves to impeach Robredo.

“Look, you know, we just had an election. Guys, lay off. Let’s stop it,” Mr. Duterte said when asked if there was a basis for the move against Robredo.

“You can do other things but do not tinker with the structure of government. I will not countenance it,” he added.

A Vice President is needed in case something happens to him, he said. “You never know, I might not wake up tomorrow from a nightmare, then OK. It would be her turn.”

On Wednesday night during a meeting with a 2,000-strong Filipino community in Bangkok, Mr. Duterte lamented that his running mate in last year’s elections, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, lost. “You chose the woman. She’s in a hurry to get me removed.”

The crowd booed Robredo as the President went on his blasts against the Vice President. “She’s in a hurry. Just wait. You haven’t done anything for the country yet,” he said.

Mr. Duterte also slammed his archcritics—Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima—who were likewise booed.

Trillanes, he said, was collecting money from big businessmen. “That’s true. Big businesses are afraid of him,” he said.

The President again cited how the narcotics trade boomed when De Lima was justice secretary.

He said the senator, whom he said went into drug trafficking, also wanted to oust him. De Lima, who is detained on drug charges, has denied wrongdoing.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson urged Mr. Duterte’s allies to heed the call of the President.

He noted that Mr. Duterte was also facing an impeachment complaint from Trillanes’ Magdalo associate in failed coup attempts against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Both of them are facing impeachment complaints with probably different motives but the impact on our democratic exercise may be the same since they just got elected nine months ago,” Lacson said in a text message.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III conceded that impeachment was “divisive and time consuming” and that it “distracts from other important work.”

Said Trillanes of Mr. Duterte: “Let’s not take his word for it. He is double-faced. We should monitor his lieutenants if they would follow through.”

Source : Inquirer.net

Senator Pimentel warns opposition: You roused sleeping giant in Speaker Alvarez

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's impeachment threat against Vice President Leni Robredo is the "reaction" of a "sleeping giant" for launching a jab against the ruling party's chairman, Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel said Tuesday.

Hours after Magdalo Party-list called for President Rodrigo Duterte's impeachment, Alvarez said he is looking at filing impeachment raps against Robredo for criticizing the government's war on illegal drugs in a video that was shown during a United Nations meeting.

"Reaction na lang 'yun kasi may nag-file against our chairman, siyempre nagising . . . ang ginising n'yo sleeping giant pa," said Pimentel, who is also the president of Duterte's PDP-Laban.

Pimentel hinted that it may be easier for Alvarez's complaint to gain traction in the lower chamber since the impeachment process is a numbers game.

"It is theoretical . . . But what I know of is that the Speaker has 230-plus followers in the House of Representatives. From party mates alone, he has 109. It is more than the threshold number of 100," Pimentel said referring to the required one-third vote from the House members to push the impeachment case to the Senate.

"Sinong unang nanuntok? Napa-react tuloy si Speaker and he has the numbers. That's the problem. Ang ginising ninyo sleeping giant," Pimentel added.

Even though the Palace also tagged Robredo's allies from the Liberal Party in an alleged destabilization plot against Duterte, Pimentel denied that the president was involved in the impeachment brawl between lawmakers.

"Si presidente actually ay hands off . . . It's the Speaker's original idea . . . Para siyang nagising doon sa pag-file," Pimentel said.

The Senate president earlier challenged the Liberal Party to "denounce" the impeachment complaint against Duterte to prove that they are not involved in the alleged plot to unseat the president.

Source : ABS-CBN