Voter Education

Senate President Franklin Drilon said that since 2016 is just around the corner, the government should focus on voter education, especially for the youth who will be voting for the first time and those who do not fully understand the importance of elections.

2016 is important if we want to continue the reforms of the present administration. We should not get carried away by what some people are saying. Rather, we should look at the integrity of those presenting themselves as candidates," Drilon said.

"For me integrity is the most important of the qualities of those we should elect as leaders of the country. If he does not have a clean record, it is likely that he would continue to be so even after elected into office," he said.

For Drilon, voters’ education is important "so that we can explain to our youth the importance of  voting for the right leaders, because the future of the nation will depend on it."

While the primary responsibility for voters' education  lies with Commission on Elections, Drilon pointed out, NGOs and election watchdogs should have their own voters’ education campaigns.

"This is part of our duties as citizens. We should teach our youth about the importance of elections, and we should not allow the nation to be ruled by those who do not deserve to be leaders," Drilon said. -end-

Ombudsman dismisses case vs Drilon et al

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the plunder and malversation case against Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, and Tourism Secretary Ramong Jimenez Jr. in connection with the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center.

In its 27-page decision, the Ombudsman said that “there is no basis for this Office to charge respondents with malversation of public funds and plunder.”

“There is also no specific evidence that respondents appropriated, misappropriated, consented, or through abandonment or negligence, permitted another to take the subject funds,” it said.

The Ombudsman also criticized complainant Manuel Mejorada for relying on online sources in filing his case.

Mejorada, during the Senate hearing, admitted that he had no material evidence to prove his allegations, and that he merely relied on online sources such as Wikipedia.

“Complainant’s reliance to online sources cannot be given credence in establishing the culpability of respondents. Given the seriousness of the allegation, complainant should come forward not with unreliable sources but with concrete evidence,” the Ombudsman said. 

The Ombudsman also said that Mejorada’s allegation that the total cost of the ICC should have been pegged only at P192,000,000 is “misplaced.” It said the complainant’s assertion of the industry standard of P30,000.00 per square meter ”has no actual basis or supporting evidence.”

Contrary to Mejorada’s claim of undue injury to the government, the Ombudsman found out that the government was even able to save a huge amount of money allotted for the ICC’s design.

The Ombdusman also dismissed Mejorada’s claim that there was no public bidding conducted for the project.

 “Contrary to complainant’s allegation of rigged bidding, competitive bidding was still observed even during the negotiated procurement stage,” it said.     

The Ombudsman stressed that “having failed to establish the commission by respondents of the criminal offenses charged, it finds it unnecessary to dwell on the alleged existence of conspiracy (among Drilon, Singson, Jimenez, and others).”

 “We are grateful that the Ombudsman acted promptly on the case, for it was not only my reputation – which I have worked so hard for for the past 30 years – that was being maligned, but also that of the good secretaries of Public Works and Tourism, whose integrity and credibility have never been put into question until the baseless case against the ICC was maliciously filed,” said Drilon.

He said that the dismissal of the case "just goes to show that the baseless and malicious allegations hurled against the ICC are completely without merit.”

 “I have always been confident since day one in the Office of the Ombudsman's wisdom and competence to see through these lies concocted to discredit us and to jeopardize the implementation of the ICC,” the Senate President said.-end-

Speak Now!

Senate President Franklin Drilon today said that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas should now declare his intention to run for President in the 2016 elections.

"We have an official process in the party but I would take the position that if he is indeed interested—and I think he is—he should declare now his intention to present himself as a candidate for the presidency in 2016," Drilon said.

"I believe that the policies and reforms of the President should be continued, and the people should know what will happen after 2016," he added.

Drilon said he believed President Aquino would "endorse someone who would be comfortable with continuing the reforms he has started. These reforms have taken root and resulted in unprecedented improvements in our stock market, in investments, and in efforts to alleviate poverty."       

According to the Senate President, "It is important for me to have a candidate who will continue these reforms. That is why my view—and this is a personal view—is that Secretary Roxas should now declare if he will be presenting himself as a candidate in 2016." 

Contempt raps

In reply to a question regarding the process in the Senate of citing a person in contempt, more particularly on the issue whether the action needs the approval of the Senate President, Drilon said: "The action of the committee to cite an individual or group of persons in contempt does not require the approval of the Senate President. However, when the committee orders the issuance of the arrest and/or the detention order, the approval of the Senate President would be needed or would become necessary."

Senators' consultants

                                                          

On the issue of Senate consultants, Drilon said: "Each senator is given a budget. He uses his budget in accordance with his own priorities, his own needs. The Senate, as part of its independent nature, gives complete discretion to each office of the senator insofar as his own budget is concerned."  
"We believe that that is the proper thing to do to make sure that the independence of each senator is protected," Drilon averred.

-end-

"We needed peace like yesterday!"

                   

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said today that the Senate would deliberate on the Bangsamoro Basic Law as soon as it receives the committee report to be submitted by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Replying to the view that the June 11 target for the BBL to be approved is a "political deadline", Drilon said,  "Why not rush it? We needed peace like yesterday. Nobody is rushing it, but we should not delay it."

Drilon said the contentious issues in the BBL will be debated upon: "Nobody will impose anything on anyone. We will debate on it and try to address possible solutions." 

Drilon said the Senate can "have line-by-line, period-by-period amendments. You have seen how the Senate works, the period of individual amendments."

"Every senator has the right to suggest an individual amendment. We have a period of individual amendments where each senator can suggest amendments and have it voted upon in the floor," he added.

Drilon also clarified that the President had not talked to him about the BBL, and that any move to expedite the passage of the proposed law would be made only after the committee report has been submitted to the plenary.

-end-

No Confidentiality Rule for Binay?

"The Liberal Party had nothing to do with the AMLC report."

    Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today disputed the assertion of the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay that the publication of the freeze order by the Court of Appeals based on a report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council violated the confidentiality rule of AMLC.

    "The Anti-Money Laundering Act is an exception to the Bank Secrecy Law. That  was the whole point of the debate when we crafted this law. That is the effect of the Bank Secrecy Law, which prohibits revelations of one’s deposits," Drilon explained.

     Drilon said the confidentiality clause in AMLA prohibits the employees and officials of the covered institutions, such as employees of banks or employees of insurance agencies, from revealing to the public what they report to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

    "The prohibition is on the revelation of the filing of the petition in the Court of Appeals for a freeze order. That is prohibited because its disclosure or publication  would allow the subject or the person against whom the petition is filed to just close the account," Drilon said.

   Once the order is issued for the freeze, there is no prohibition, Drilon emphasized: "The confidentiality rule does not apply because then you already infringe on the freedom of the press. There is no more public interest to be served by prohibiting the publication."

   "The publication is only prohibited when the petition is being filed because then you can close the accounts, but once there is an order, the freedom of the press provision will prevail. Media has access to the freeze order because there is no public interest involved. There is no liability," according to Drilon.

    The Senate President said media cannot be held in contempt for making the freeze order public. He said media can divulge the AMLC report as "it is part of the order of the Court which ordered the freezing. Those are public records. The freedom of the press is primordial in that case."

      Drilon said the freeze order means that the court found strong evidence. Otherwise, it would not be granted.

      At the same time, Drilon clarified that the Liberal Party had nothing to do with the AMLC report. 

    "We have nothing to do with that. The members of the AMLC are professionals. The Bangko Sentral governor is a professional, the SEC officials are professionals. They are not partisan," Drilon said.

    "Of course, as we near the elections, this is par for the course," he added.   

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PNoy vets LP presidential bets

President Aquino is in the process of conducting consultations with various sectors on who will be the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the Liberal Party coalition in 2016.

This was the reply of Senate President Franklin M. Drilon when asked about the reported meeting of President Aquino with Sen. Grace Poe, who has figured prominently in recent surveys of possible presidential candidates in next year's general elections.

"As party chairman, the President must seek the views of every sector. That is his prerogative," Drilon said. 

Drilon pointed out that he was not present in the meeting.

The LP stalwart said  the choice of who to field as presidential and vice-presidential candidates next year is "a matter for the President to decide."

Drilon said that while Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is the "presumptive candidate" of the Liberal Party, President Aquino "is undertaking consultations of every sector because of the broad coalition that he heads."

Drilon said there is no schedule as of now as to when the LP would choose its candidates as "we have to seek the opinion of the highest official of the land and our party chairman. "  

Drilon explained that the President did not need to ask the permission of the LP in holding talks with Sen. Poe: "I don’t think that the President needs anyone’s permission."

 Asked his opinion on whether Sen. Poe would make a good vice president, Drilon replied: "That is a matter for the President (to decide). The President is undertaking consultations and I do not want to preempt him. As LP Vice-Chairman, I will rely on the judgment of the President."

Shifting to the issue of consultancy fees of the Senate raised in a COA report,  Drilon said:  "I have not seen the COA report. When I saw the news report this morning, I directed (Senate) Secretary Yabes to submit to me a report on this."

"The matter of hiring consultants is a prerogative of each senator. The consultancy agreement and the number of consultants, and who these consultants are, are not cleared with my office. I do not sign any consultancy agreements," Drilon said.

Drilon explained  that each senator decides on the issue on the basis of his or her need and within his or her assigned budget: "I do not interfere on that, that is part of the independence of each senator who to hire as consultants."

Drilon said that very senator has a budget for consultants. "There is a budget equally assigned to all senators. How they utilize it and how much they pay the  consultants, that depends on every senator and their (individual) needs."

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Poll body appointee gets boost from senate head

     

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon vouched for the integrity and competence of newly appointed Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon amid questions raised by the opposition.

 "I know Commissioner Guanzon. She and I used to be colleagues at ACCRA Law. She is competent and highly qualified," Drilon said.

"She has her own mind, and I am confident that will be independent as a Comelec commissioner. I don’t think she will blindly follow what other people say," he added.

The political opposition claimed that the Liberal Party may be behind the appointment of Guanzon to the sensitive post so she could favor the candidacy of the presumptive LP presidential candidate, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

Guanzon, the opposition said, is close to the Liberal Party, and Drilon's name had been mentioned as among those who could have pushed her appointment.       "What our political adversaries are saying is not unexpected. If they have nothing to say, then they cannot be called the opposition. But I have complete trust in the character of Commissioner Guanzon," Drilon explained.

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