PRIVILEGE SPEECH OF REP. ERICE

REP. ERICE. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, I rise for the purpose of defending my party, the Liberal Party, of which I am a proud member, from the malicious attacks being unleashed by forces committed to destroy the gains of President Aquino’s and the Liberal Party’s platform of Matuwid na Daan.

Last week, Vice President Binay was quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as chiding LP officials for sowing intrigue between him and President Aquino. Our colleague, Rep. Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay, was quoted by the Tribune as pointing to Malacañang and DILG Secretary as the brains of the black propaganda against the Binays. Likewise, UNA Secretary General. Cong. Tobias “Toby” M. Tiangco, was quoted as saying that the palace and the Liberal Party have started waging a demolition job against the Binays by linking them to the PDAF scam.

It will be recalled that a supposed “white paper” came out alleging that Rep. Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay used her pork barrel funds to finance political rallies and spent P16 million of her PDAF for vermiculture projects in . She claimed that a “white paper” was being peddled to various media outlets to drag the Binays into the pork barrel scam.

Though Representative Binay claimed earlier that this was the handiwork of two brothers from the Global City, I am wondering why she and Representative Tiangco are accusing the LP and the palace as the source of the so-called demolition job.

As a member of the Liberal Party, I take exception to these accusations, they have no basis in truth and in fact, and I wonder why they are always accusing the Liberal Party whenever there are negative reports about the Binays and the UNA. Wala kaming alam sa “white paper” na iyan.

Nalaman lamang namin nang ito ay lumabas sa pahayagan at sinasagot ng pamilya Binay at ng UNA kaakibat ang malisyosong pag-aakusa sa Liberal Party. Kasinungalingan poito, walang basehan.

What the Binays must do is to explain whether there is truth to the allegations stated in the “white paper.” As public officials, they are duty-bound to answer valid issues and be transparent.

Mr. Speaker, I was able to get hold of the press releases from the camp of Representative Binay and I believe that instead of accusing Sec. Mar Roxas, the palace and the Liberal Party of a demolition job, it is advisable for our colleague to satisfactorily explain these transactions. After all, public service is public trust and transparency is always part of good governance.

Please allow me to explain, Mr. Speaker. The purported “white paper” allegedly details the anomalous transactions involving the PDAF in the Second District of Makati. So, as a fellow legislator, I gave Representative Binay the benefit of the doubt and did my own counterchecking of the details as reported in the newspapers.

First of all, it is not denied that based on a COA finding, she indeed significantly exceeded her PDAF allocation for the year 2008 by P47 million when she received P117 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund.

It is also not denied that in the years 2008 and 2009, Congresswoman Binay diverted a total of P12.6 million to an NGO by the name of Kasanib, which was co-founded by her father, Vice President Binay.

G. Ispiker, hindi rin po itinatanggi na noong 2009, si Congresswoman Binay ay nagbigay ng halagang P15 milyon sa Gabay at Pag-asang Masa Foundation, isang NGO na kabilang sa mga palpak at pekeng mga organisasyon na iniulat ng COA, at kamakailan lamang ay inalisan ng akreditasyon ng Department of Agriculture dahil hindi na-liquidate ang mga pondong natanggap nito. Lalo pong hindi itinatanggi na gumastos ng P16 milyon mula sa PDAF ni Congresswoman Binay para sa vermiculture project sa Second District ng Makati. Bagama’t wala namang masama sa vermiculture project, lubhang nakapagtataka na ang pag-proproseso ng mga bulate sa isang highly ubanized city ay gagastusan ng P16 milyon. Hindi ko po alam kung may sapat pang lugar sa Makati upang epektibong makapag-proseso ng bulate.

As an officer of the Liberal Party, I can categorically state that our grand old party has no participation in the supposed demolition job being claimed by Representative Binay. The Liberal Party’s obsession right now is to commit our fullest support to the philosophy of the Aquino administration which is Daang Matuwid. Our single-minded goal right now is to contribute to the realization of President Aquino’s legacy of good governance. We have no time to be preoccupied with useless black propaganda as the UNA accuses us of. Hindi ko po malalaman ang mga sinabi kong ito kung hindi po inakusahan ang Liberal Party na siyang nangunguna sa demolition job na ito.

Ngayon po, ito po ang mukha ni Congressman Erice, base po sa mga COA records, base po sa mga DBM records, palagay ko po, obligasyon na ito ay ipaliwanag.

G. Ispiker, kung susuriin po nating mabuti, sino na naman ang naiipit ngayon sa media? Sina Mar Roxas, Butch Abad, , na mga pawang haligi ng Liberal Party. Ito ang mga taong wala naman talagang kinalaman sa mga iskandalong ibinibintang sa kanila. Walang mailabas na dokumento, walang mailabas na pruweba, puro galing sa bula ang mga paratang laban sa kanila.

O, hindi po ba iyan ang tunay na demolition job? Walang dokumento. Walang pruweba. Walang ebidensiyang makapagpapatunay na ang mga taong ito ay sangkot sa malawakang korapsyon o paglustay ng pera ng bayan. Mga kaibigan ko po at kilala kong personal sina Mar Roxas, Butch Abad at Jun Abaya, at kaya kong sabihin, at ngayon nga ay tahasan kong sinasabi sa harapan ninyong lahat, ang mga taong ito ay trabaho lamang ang inaatupag. Sila ay nagpupursige upang matulungan si Presidente Aquino na malutas ang mga problema ng ating bansa. Malaki ang kontribusyon nila sa Daang Matuwid at sigurado ako na wala silang panahon para magkalat ng mga akusasyon at magtago sa likod ng “white paper.”

Mr. Speaker, please notice that while Representative Binay and Representative Tiangco are blaming the Liberal Party for this supposed smear campaign, Vice President Binay, as if on cue, has declared that President Aquino was not involved in all these. The suggestion is that the President is separate from, and not a part of, the Liberal Party. They are insulting the President, because both the government and the LP are being managed by the President. He is in complete control of the Liberal Party. Even si Secretary Mar Roxas, may delicadeza po kaya po nag-leave as LP President.

The obvious purpose, of course, is to allow Vice President Binay to continue enjoying the perks and privileges of being a Cabinet member while his family and party-mates are given the go signal to attack President Aquino’s political party and his political allies. Even Congresswoman Binay and the rest of the UNA Congressmen are members of the majority coalition except for one, but UNA keeps on hitting its coalition partner in the Lower House.

There is an old saying, ”You cannot have your cake and eat it too.” Hence, Vice President Binay, his family and his UNA party-mates cannot enjoy the benefits of being with the Aquino administration while at the same time having the privilege of maligning the Liberal Party, of which President Aquino is the titular head.

Panahon na po, G. Ispiker, upang ilabas ni Vice President ang tunay niyang kulay at huwag mamangka sa dalawang ilog. Kakampi ba siya ng administrasyon o pinuno ba siya ng oposisyon? Panahon na para ipakita niya ang kanyang ipinangangalandakang magaling na liderato. Kung siya ay tunay na kakampi ng administrasyong Aquino, dapat ay utusan niya ang kanyang mga anak at mga kapartido na tantanan ang pagbanat sa Malakanyang at sa partido ng ating Pangulo. Ngunit kung siya ay tunay na lider ng oposisyon, dapat ay panindigan niya ito, agad siyang magbitiw sa Gabinete, upang araw-araw niyang mabanatan ang mga nakikita niyang mali sa administrasyong Aquino at sa Liberal Party.

Si Congressman Tiangco po, hindi po tumanggap ng anumang puwesto dahil ayaw niyang sumama sa majority party. Hinahangaan ko po siya diyan. Pinaninindigan niya ang tunay niyang kulay.

Mr. Speaker, the time has come for the Liberal Party to defend itself from the two-faced attacks of Vice President Binay and his UNA party-mates. It is time to expose Vice President Binay for what he truly is, the epitome of the opportunistic trapo as best exemplified when he announced in a ceasefire in Zamboanga, preempting and outstaging the President of the Republic of the , Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, my dear colleagues.