SENATOR Panfilo Lacson wants colleagues in the Upper Chamber to consider citing in contempt the defense team of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona for alleging that Malacañang was trying to bribe some senator-judges P100 million each to vote in favor of defying the Supreme Court order barring the opening of the chief magistrate's dollar accounts.

"I will suggest that," Lacson said in a chance interview when asked whether he would ask his fellow senator-judges to reprimand Corona's defense team. He would also suggest to the body to compel Corona's lawyers to reveal their supposed sources who had told them that it was Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa who allegedly "offered" the bribe to some senator-judges.

"That’s my humble submission sa body. Kailangan talaga pangalanan nila (ang kanilang source of information). We can force them under pain of being cited for contempt. That’s really contemptuous sa impeachment court to say the least," Lacson said.

However, Lacson said that the Senate, sitting as impeachment court, has to address also the House prosecution panel’s repeated presentation to the public of their supposed evidence against Corona. "In my humble opinion, that’s contemptuous," he said.

Lacson said that his colleagues got offended by the defense's allegation which he described as "pure rubbish."

"The court should really be more strict sa sub judice rules, sa application ng sub judice rules, kasi blatant na masyado ang violations every now and then (ng prosecution panel)," he said.

"That’s not true at all.  I won’t be affected, I’m sure about myself, hindi ako kasama kung totoo mang may offer na ganoon, but I doubt it very much and I don’t believe there is such an offer," the senator said.

He added:"Ako mismo, paano offer-an ng P100 million in additional pork barrel eh hindi ko nga kinukuha ang aking pork barrel? On that note alone mukhang talagang gawa-gawa lang ang istorya. As a matter of fact we will question them. Sinasabi nila meron silang source na ayaw nilang pangalanan. So how will we get to the bottom of this issue kung magsasabi sila ng ganitong information to the detriment of the senator-judges, pagkatapos di naman natin ma-verify because they refuse to name their source or sources. It is so unfair."

Malicious and baseless.

This is how the House prosecution panel described the disclosure made by the defense team on the alleged P100-million bribe offer to each of the senator-judges in exchange for their vote defying the temporary restraining order (TRO) of the Supreme Court on opening Chief Justice Renato Corona’s dollar account.

Lead prosecutor Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. also challenged the defense team to name their source.

He said with this baseless accusations, Corona is not respecting the constitutional process of the impeachment, the Senate impeachment tribunal and the senator-judges.

“The allegation is very irresponsible because he cannot name his source. Respondent CJ is trying to demonize the Executive and blackmail the Senate to vote in their favor as part of the mind conditioning strategy,” Tupas said.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said it is clear that the “hearsay” thing was meant to pressure the senators.

“This is designed to influence the senators in deciding the issue in the defense favor, this is contemptuous at the very least,” Gonzales said, adding that such story could be described as “kwentong Lola Basyang, kutsero at barbero.”