PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — SENATOR Jamby Madrigal yesterday announced that she will file a plunder case against Senator Manny Villar before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Madrigal said her move to file plunder case against Villar was based from a committee report that was released by the Senate committee of the whole.
Madrigal, the principal complaint in the ethics case, has also urged Villar to immediately return the P6.2 billion he benefited from the C-5 road project scam.
“Ako ngayon ay naghahanda na ng kasong plunder laban kay Senador Villar sa Office of the Ombudsman. Kung inaakala nilang piece of paper lamang ang kasong ito, dadalhin ko na ito sa husgado,” Madrigal said in a press conference at the Senate media center yesterday.
She said the evidence is clear and beyond doubt. Senator Villar should now return his ill-gotten wealth. “Ibalik niya ang pera na nakuha sa kaban ng taumbayan,” Madrigal added.
Madrigal has urged the government if Villar failed to return the P6.2 billion for the authorities to sequester all the property of the ex-Senate president.
Meanwhile, Senator Mar Roxas congratulated his colleagues in the Senate for adhering to the rule of law. “It is with pride that I salute those who have vigilantly stood up for the integrity of the institution, which we have vowed to protect, withstanding pressures from colleagues who wanted to do otherwise.”
He said the Senate now can move on with its legislative agenda and set aside bitter political bickering that has sidetracked its law-making duties.
“The committee of the whole report reflects the diligence and thoroughness that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile exercised in evaluating the arguments, evidence and testimonies presented related to the case. It is now an official report with the signature of 12 senators affixed to it.
Meanwhile, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday clarified that Villar was not very much affected with the committee report. “Hindi naman. In fact he’s taking care all of the other things that a presidential candidate should do. Of course hindi mo matatanggal na emotionally, parang dehadong-dehado na siya sa Senado.
He said it is natural for a human being to be emotionally affected but this doesn’t mean that Villar will not do his everyday work and appointment. “So, siyemre, he is also an emotional human being, hindi natin masasabing walang epekto pero he is handling it well, because isang taon na nangyayari ito,” Cayetano added.
Another Villar known ally, former Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, has accused Senator Francis Pangilinan of having two faces when he signed a committee report that found Villar guilty of engaging in unethical behavior when he allegedly profited from the C-5 road extension project.
“He (Pangilinan) can say what he wants but in the end, his two characters have come out,” said Remulla, a spokesman and Nacionalista Party senatorial bet.
Panglinan was among the 12 senators who signed the resolution late last year seeking the dismissal of the ethics complaint filed against Villar.
But Pangilinan made a sudden turnaround when he joined 11 senators in signing the report by the Senate committee of the whole that investigated the case of Villar.
Pangilinan claimed that he was simply following the decision of his group, Liberal Party, to support the recommendation against Villar.
Pangilinan and Villar are both members of the so-called Wednesday Club at the Senate. Other members are Senator Joker Arroyo, former Senator Ralph Recto and Vice President Noli de Castro.