Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - A son of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday challenged Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and the rest of the Senate to broaden their inquiry into purported corruption in the military to see if the trail would lead to the former Commander in Chief.
"Why don't they just proceed with their investigation and see where it leads to," Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo of the party-list group Ang Galing Pinoy said, adding with a tinge of sarcasm: "If he (Trillanes) has suspicions that he can substantiate with concrete evidence, he should air that at the Senate investigation which, lest it be forgotten, is in aid of legislation."
Trillanes told reporters on Friday that it was "not far-fetched" that the corruption issue involving a military slush fund could reach up to the level of Gloria Arroyo, now the representative of the second district of Pampanga.
He also said the Senate investigation would "go wherever this will lead us."
Asked to comment, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said that even if Trillanes and the Senate wanted to, they could not force the former President to testify at the Senate inquiry.
Mikey Arroyo also reminded Trillanes that "the great power of parliamentary immunity comes with parliamentary courtesy."
He added that the former leader of the 2003 Oakwood mutiny was just using the media as "a launch pad" �� a reference to Trillanes' earlier declaration that he would tour the country when he runs for reelection in 2013.
Trillanes' remarks on Friday were in connection with the earlier appeal of Angelo Reyes, the late ex-chief of staff of the Armed Forces, for him to name the "powerful person" behind former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, who is facing a P303-million plunder case.
Garcia's controversial plea bargain with the Office of the Ombudsman��which allowed him to plead guilty to lesser offenses and to eventually be granted bail��is the main subject of the congressional inquiries.
The House of Representatives concluded its inquiry on Wednesday; the Senate resumes its own next week.
Pro and con
Members of the House aired varying reactions to the issue.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares agreed that Gloria Arroyo might have had a key role in the payoffs from the purported slush fund.
"It is impossible for such a large amount of money to be disbursed by AFP chiefs of staff without asking this question: 'What was the role of the Commander in Chief, being the top official in the military hierarchy? From all indications, General Garcia himself admitted that he was just fronting for someone more powerful than he,'" Colmenares said.
But in Tacloban City, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez expressed surprise over news reports implicating the ex-President in the alleged misuse of military funds.
Romualdez, a close ally of Arroyo and now president of the once-ruling Lakas-Kampi, cited radio dzMM's interview with whistle-blower George Rabusa that the former president had nothing to do with the slush fund.
"I really don't know why some publications, including the Inquirer, are insinuating something," Romualdez said.
According to Romualdez, implicating Arroyo in the corruption issue is without basis except on grounds of command responsibility.
"But do you blame God, by virtue of command responsibility, for what is happening to you?" he added.
Legislation needed
Romualdez, however, said Congress should continue looking into the corruption issue. But he said Congress should come up with the needed legislation so it would not appear that the inquiries were intended only for publicity.
"Congress should do its job and enact legislation because there have been so many investigations conducted (with no results)," he said.
Romualdez said he was a bit disappointed that some of his colleagues would pose questions to the resource persons only if TV cameras were on.
"But once the television cameras are off, they stop asking questions. (Live coverage only) brings so much drama, and the grandstanding element comes in," the lawmaker said.
