Thursday, February 08, 2007
Suspension of Cayetano might not push through: lawmakers
TWO administration congressmen said it is impossible for the House to execute the 45-day suspension that the ethics committee recommended against Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano.
Bohol Representative Roberto Cajes, chairman of the committee, doubted if the House could deliberate on the proposed suspension against Cayetano because of material time.
Congress has only one day (Wednesday) left in its session. It will adjourn for a four-month recess for the May 14 elections and will resume session on June 4 for the adjournment sine die.
Cajes said the committee was yet to prepare the final report that will be submitted to all the members for their signatures. After which, the report will have to be submitted again to the committee before it can be forwarded to the House committee on rules for its inclusion in the order of business.
"We may not be able to approve it in the plenary to effect the suspension due to lack of material time. We are still preparing the report to be signed by the committee members," he said.
House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles also said they might not be able to discuss the issue in the plenary due to lack of time.
In order for the House to implement the suspension against Cayetano, at least 154 House members' signatures are needed.
Nograles was also unsure if the House would adopt the committee decision. He said it would be better that the committee recommended to reprimand Cayetano instead, which he claimed is easier to adopt by the floor.
The House committee on ethics by a vote of 35 to three with one abstention slapped Cayetano with 45-day suspension without pay for alleged misconduct and disorderly behavior when he accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo and his family of concealing multimillion-dollar accounts with HypoVereinsbank in Munich, Germany, which he failed to prove.
The First Gentleman, along with his son Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and brother Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, filed an expulsion complaint against Cayetano for the accusation, but the ethics panel decided to only suspend the opposition lawmaker.
Another Presidential son, Diosdado Arroyo, filed a separate complaint before the committee. (DBP/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (February 8, 2007 issue)
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