Daven Tamayo

Lacson claims Marcoleta committed indirect bribery as congressman; Marcoleta hits back

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has alleged Senator Rodante Marcoleta committed indirect bribery as a member of the House of Representatives.Lacson made the allegation during the privileged speech on Tuesday, where he rebutted Marcoleta&#x27;s criticisms of his leadership over the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Investigation on the flood control scandal.Lacson referenced Marcoleta&#x27;s defense regarding the alleged misdeclaration in Marcoleta&#x27;s Statement of Contributions and Expenses in Halalan 2025.&quot;When he was issued a show cause order by the COMELEC, he tried to backtrack on his arguments by saying that he received those contributions when he was not yet a candidate as defined by the decision of the Supreme Court,&quot; Lacson said. &quot;Pero ang nakakatawa Mr. President ay, wala nang mas lilinaw sa sariling pag-amin ni Senator Marcoleta - tumanggap sya ng pera para magkaroon sya ng utang na loob sa mga taong iyon - isang maliwanag na Admission against Interest.&quot;Lacson noted that this falls under indirect bribery.&quot;Bilang isang abogado, dapat alam ni Sen. Marcoleta na dahil dito ay shoot siya sa balde sa kasong Indirect bribery under Article 211 ng Revised Penal Code dahil member siya ng House of Representatives nang panahon na iyon. Maliwanag sa batas na krimen sa mga public officials na tumanggap ng pera o gift “by reason of their office” kahit walang pangako na particular act or omission sa nagbigay ng pera,&quot; he said.After Lacson finished his speech, Marcoleta took to the floor and said the whole speech was riddled with personal attacks instead of addressing his critique.&quot;Hindi ko po alam, Mr. President, Your Honor, kung paano ko, saan ako mag-uumpisa sapagkat hindi ako ang subject matter nung aking dineliver na privilege speech kahapon. Kaya kong sagutin at iisa-isahin sa inyo, ngunit ang nangyari, parang ad hominem ang nangyari. Sa akin po natutukoy lahat ang inyong privilege speech ngayon, samantalang ang inaasahan ko ay sasagutin nyo yung privilege speech kahapon,&quot; Marcoleta said. &quot;Kasi kung ganun pong mangyayari, Mr. President, malilihis na naman po tayo sa inaasahan ng ating mga mamamayan.&quot;Lacson, however, seized the opportunity to point out he did not start this.&quot;Sino ba po nagsimula nito? Nung una pong privilege speech ninyo, hindi ko na sinagot kasi ayoko magkagulo. Pero enough is enough. Kahapon, nanonood lang ako sa aking opisina, gusto kong bumaba. Kaya lang malalim na ang gabi at ayoko maabala yung trabaho sa Senado. Kaya nagsabi ako sa ating Senate President, at ito&#x27;y na-manifest niya kahapon, narinig ko, na I was told, na sasagot ako ngayong araw na ito. Wala pong gustong maglihis sa usaping flood control,&quot; Lacson said.Senate President Vicente Sotto III admonished the 2 Senators to address the chair just when they were starting to directly address each other during the plenary session. Both apologized to the presiding officer.Marcoleta then went on to remind the body that the privilege speech should have only covered one topic.&quot;Ang isang privilege speech nakatutok lang sa isang subject matter. Pero ang gagawin po ninyong samot-samot ito at pagkatapos ay mag-uumpisa kayo na para bang ang nilalaman ng privilege speech ninyo ay puro ad hominem. Wala po tayong matatapos dito,&quot; Marcoleta said.Marcoleta skipped any references to the alleged misdeclaration in his ensuing statements.Lacson, for his part, expressed readiness to continue the inquiry into the flood control scandal, which is why he devised a way for senators to expeditiously review the over 400-page report.Lacson also answered Marcoleta&#x27;s critique on how Lacson did not investigate other personalities. Lacson is ready to call other witnesses and continue the probe.&quot;Kung meron po siya may pakita sa akin sa committee report o sa TSN sa minutes ng pagdinig na nabanggit ang pangalan ni Undersecretary Bersamin, bukas na bukas din po, o bigyan natin 3-day notice rule. Tatawag po ako ng pagdinig, ipapatawag natin si Undersecretary Bersamin,&quot; Lacson said. &quot;So kung maipapakita po sa akin ng ating kasamahan, Sen. Marcoleta, na merong isang mention sa affidavit o sa salaysay ni Undersecretary Bernardo na binanggit si Undersecretary Bersamin, e di tumawag po tayo ng pagdinig at mag-motion siya na ipatawag kung sino man ang gusto niya ipatawag.&quot;Lacson clarified that it was he who referred to other personalities in the flood control scandal in another hearing outside the Blue Ribbon probe.As to the matter of the testimony of Governor Chavit Singson, Lacson said there was no clarity on the subject of his testimony.Lacson also stressed they exerted efforts to locate Orly Guteza, the former employee of former lawmaker Zaldy Co who claimed to have delivered cash to former Speaker Martin Romualdez.Marcoleta was having none of this.Sotto later suspended the session, and all Senators retreated to the lounge. Upon resumption, Lacson agreed to continue the discussion.&quot;I will allow Mr. President but if he hits me, I&#x27;ll hit back,&quot; Lacson said.&quot;He can hit me many, many times. Sabi ko nga po kanina, Mr. President, that&#x27;s irrelevant to me. It&#x27;s no longer important to me. Kahit ano pa pong paninira ang sabihin ni Sen. Lacson sa akin, wala pong kaso sa akin yun,&quot; Marcoleta responded.Marcoleta insisted that his concerns be addressed, to which Lacson agreed without giving a schedule.When Marcoleta pressed him for a schedule, Lacson asked Marcoleta to sign the partial committee report, but Marcoleta demurred.&quot;Paano ko po pinirmahan ang partial para sa report, Mr. President? Ang gusto ko makumpleto muna, kaya nga po ako&#x27;y nakikiusap, puntahan po natin ang mga potential areas of evidence. Kung payag naman po kayo, um-oo na kayo. Tinatanong ko lang ngayon, meron na po ba tayong schedule? Sana naman po, kahit weekly lang, Mr. President, tapusin na po natin ito,&quot; Marcoleta said.Sotto and Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri referred the matter to the Rules Committee.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson alleged Senator Rodante Marcoleta committed indirect bribery as a member of the House of Representatives.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson alleged Senator Rodante Marcoleta committed indirect bribery as a member of the House of Representatives.