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PADILLA ADMITTED HE HAS NOT READ COA REPORT BEFORE IMPEACHMENT - ALVAREZ
November 4, 2003
Lakas-CMD national spokesperson Secretary Heherson T. Alvarez today chided
House minority leader Rep. Carlos Padilla for calling him a liar when the
Nueva Vizcaya solon denied admitting that he could have changed his mind in
signing the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.
if only he read the Commission on Audit (COA) beforehand.
“Carling Padilla is too young to have amnesia. Why is he backtracking on his
admission on his possible reservations in signing the complaint? Making an
enlightened decision after a careful study of the facts of the case is not a
sign of weakness but of intellectual humility,” he stressed.
Alvarez said Padilla went on air over AM radio station DZRH last Friday, Oct. 31
at around 5:00 pm, in the show of broadcaster Rey Sibayan, where Padilla admitted
that if he read the COA report clearing Davide earlier, perhaps he may not have
signed the impeachment complaint.
Alvarez said he was in his car when he heard Congressman Padilla say “kung nakita
ko lamang ang COA report, maaaring hindi na sana ako pumirma.”
“When I heard this, I called up DZRH and while we were live on air, I asked Congressman
Padilla, ‘ganoon pala naman, baka naman maaari ninyong i-withdraw ang inyong pirma
matapos ninyong mabasa itong COA report?,” Alvarez said.
The former senator said he also corrected Padilla’s insinuations that he made false
claims against Padilla on Monday, Nov. 3, at around 7:00 am, in a radio show hosted
by Rene Sta. Cruz over AM radio station DZBB.
“He went on air and was already accusing me of lying and that we never talked
during the entire impeachment period. So I called the radio station and reminded
him about our exchange of opinion in DZRH last Friday where he made that admission
on air,” Alvarez said.
At the DZBB program, Alvarez corrected Padilla that although they did not speak
to each other, they did exchanged views on air over the impeachment issue at the
DZRH program.
He kidded Padilla: “Bakit mo naman ako pinararatangang sinungaling? Hindi ba’t
nagkapaliwanagan tayo sa DZRH kay Rey Sibayan? Brod naman kita (both are members
of UP’s Alpha Phi Beta fraternity), bakit naman ako magsisinungaling sa iyo?”
Padilla was caught by surprise that Alvarez was on the other line but he acknowledged
that indeed he made that statement over DZRH.
Meanwhile, Alvarez clarified that they were not asking lawmakers “to withdraw their
complaint but only to withdraw their signatures so that the matter can be tackled
again in the House Committee on Justice where the charges may be thoroughly scrutinized.”
“We believe that the legitimate complaints against the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF)
can be best tackled in the House Committee. Perhaps the debates in the House committee
could clarify those issues,” he added.
Alvarez is among those working for the withdrawal of signature of Lakas-CMD members to
defeat the required 76 signatures before Congress resumes session on Nov. 10 in order
to remand the complaint back to the committee level.
“I apologize if I hurt some of my partymates when I said they may not have read the
complaint thoroughly before they signed it. I’m just saying that there are situations
when congressmen sign out of peer consideration and pakiki-isa as shown by Caloocan Rep.
Edgar Erice. But once they have been fully informed, they have also the intellectual
humility to correct this,” he added.
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