Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Sunday declared he has no
problem with losing his Senate post. A situation that may have arisen
over the opposing stand he has taken in two Malacañang-backed bills.
Enrile said that, while he has no bad blood with President Benigno
Aquino III, he is not so sure about some of Aquino’s allies, even as he
noted that two senators are out to unseat him as Senate president.
“Ako, gaya ng sinabi ko, ako naman ay at the disposal of my fellow senators. I have no Torrens title over that position. Kung meron silang numero sabihin lang sa akin, at ako walang problema yan
(As I said before, I am at the disposal of my fellow senators. I have
no Torrens title over that position. If they have the numbers to oust
me, they can confront me and that’s no problem with me),” he said in an
interview on dzBB radio.
Regarding the two senators working for his ouster, Enrile was referring to Miriam Santiago and Antonio Trillanes IV.
On Sunday, a report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Santiago as
saying she expected Enrile to lose the Senate presidency in January or
February. She cited Enrile’s opposition to the Reproductive Health bill
and the sin tax bill. President Aquino last week certified the RH bill
as urgent, while Senate has already passed the sin tax bill.
“Wala akong problema kay presidente, none that I know of. Ewan ko kung may kasama siya na hindi natutuwa sa akin...Ang galit sa akin niyan, gumagalaw para ako matanggal, si Trillanes
at Miriam (I have no problem with Aquino, at least none that I know of.
I just don’t know about some of Aquino’s allies who are not happy with
me. But I can say Santiago and Trillanes are moving for my ouster as
Senate president),” Enrile said.
On the other
hand, he noted that while he is not a member of Aquino’s Liberal Party,
he already gave LP members in the Senate “the most important committees
to help the president.”
LP member Sen. Teofisto
Guingona III chairs the Blue Ribbon committee, while Sen. Francis
Pangilinan chairs teh agriculture and food committee.
Sen. Franklin Drilon chairs the finance committee while Sen. Ralph Recto was given the committees on government corporations.
Recto also heads the congressional oversight committees on the proper
implementation of the National Internal Revenue Code, and on Official
Development Assistance.
“I have always helped the president on matters for the good of the country,” Enrile said.
Rift with Miriam
Meanwhile, Enrile confirmed returning Santiago Christmas gift to him,
but he clarified that this was not because of their opposite positions
on the RH bill.
He also clarified he did not mean to return the gift of Sen. Pilar Juliana Cayetano, the sponsor of the RH bill in the Senate.
Enrile cited reports quoting Santiago as saying her relations with him
were “ice-cold,” and that she took him as a godfather “as a matter of
status.”
Because of this, he said that when he
received the gift from Santiago’s office, he assumed Santiago’s staff
may have mistakenly given him the gift, so he had it returned.
“Kaming mga senador every Christmas ang gifts namin ginagawa ng aming staff yan, at least by experience. So sa akin baka nagkamali ang kanyang staff, pinadalhan ako. So I decided ibalik na lang
(By experience, senators have their staffs prepare gifts for fellow
senators. Considering what Santiago had said, I assumed her staff made a
mistake of sending me a gift so I had it returned),” he said.
“Narinig ko sabi niya ang kanyang relasyon sa akin parang yelo. Bakit
ko ipipilit sarili ko maging kaibigan niya (I heard her say her
relations with me are ice-cold. Why should I force myself as a friend on
her)?” he added.
Enrile said it is up to Santiago to take the matter to the Senate ethics committee if she felt insulted.
“Kung akala niya nainsulto siya, problema niya yan at alam niya gagawin niya. Pwede niya ako idemanda sa ethics committee kung gusto niya (If she felt insulted, that’s her problem. She can take the case to the ethics committee if she wants),” he said.
Besides, he said Santiago did not even vote for him as Senate President
back in late 2008, and was accommodated in the majority bloc only on
Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.’s request.
In addition, he said his staff had Cayetano’s gift returned. But said it was more a mistake by his aide. “Wala naman akong problema kay Pia (I have no problem with Pia),” he said.
Palace assures JPE of smooth ties
Meanwhile, in Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail
Valte was insistent that the Palace’s ties with Enrile are smooth.
“As far as we are concerned, okay naman tayo with
the Senate President (As far as we are concerned we are okay with the
Senate President),” she said on government-run dzRB radio.--KDM, GMA News
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