SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile has challenged Sen.Miriam Defensor-Santiago and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) to charge him before the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice if they really believe that his decision to distribute Php1.6 million to some senators last December out of Senate savings was “unconstitutional.”

Enrile shrugged off the reported plan of VACC chairman Dante Jimenez to file a complaint this week against him before the Senate ethics committee. “Kung ako si Dante Jimenez ‘wag sa ethics committee siya mag-file. Dalhin niya ako sa Ombudsman o sa DoJ. Kung hindi niya ito gagawin, nakikisawsaw lang siya sa publicity,” he said in a radio interview yesterday.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson made the same observation about Jimenez’s intention to accuse Enrile of alleged wrongdoing. “Ang tawag doon ‘epal.’ Pumapapel lang. Mahilig sumingit basta may controversy na ganyan. Hindi p’wede hindi sisingit. Una, sabihin na natin against crime and corruption. Nakasilip ng oportunidad malagay sa diyaryo at mapag-usapan sa media. Sawsaw agad na mag-file ng ethics complaint against Senate President Enrile. Anong basehan (niya)?” he said in a separate radio interview.

“Ang CoA chairperson mismo nagsalita na walang illegal kasi may special provision in the GAA (General Appropriations Act)  2012, every time mapapasa ang budget under GAA, ang constitutional offices kasama ang Senate at House of Representatives, may authority ang heads of those offices to realign or augment ang budget kung inaakala nila kailangan i-augment. Ang illegal or unconstitutional, kung walang item sa budget at lalagyan ng budget, ‘yan talagang di pupuwede ‘yan,” Lacson said.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano expressed alarm over the possible implications of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s actions on the integrity and independence of the Senate. He said this in response to reports that Enrile gave additional maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) funds amounting to Php1.6 million each for 18 senators and only Php250,000 to the remaining four, including him.

“This is really a bad precedent. This Enrile precedent is the first time wherein regular funds for MOOE are given to senators based merely on whom the Senate President favors. For me, this is more of an issue of how the majority sees the impact of this on the Senate as a whole rather than how the minority feels about receiving less funds,” Cayetano said.

He also refuted the Enrile’s allegations that he is not acting like a member of the minority given that he voted for the administration-supported Sin Tax and Responsible Health (RH) bill as it was deliberated on the Senate floor – pieces of legislation that Enrile was openly against.

“It’s unfair of him to expect our allegiances instead of our personal convictions to dictate how we act as senators. Just because I backed administration-supported bills does not mean that I no longer act as a member of the minority. I support what I think is right and just because I am a member of the minority does not mean that I will reject good policies just because they are ideas of the majority,” he said.

Cayetano said that while as a member of the minority, he was always aware of the benefits that they as a group would not get, he was still shocked to find out that committee chairmanships of minority members are now being hit by Enrile. “I was never aware of a rule that made committee chairmanships exclusive to majority members. During the Senate presidency terms of Senator Manny Villar and Senator Franklin Drilon, minority members also chaired committees. Why then is this being questioned now?” he said.