Thursday, November 15, 2007 Senate vows to dig deeper into cash gift issue
THE Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigating the cash gift issue will ask bank officials from the Bank of Commerce-Balibago branch in Angeles City in Pampanga province to shed light on the alleged withdrawal made last July 3, 2007 by certain W.Y. Bondoc.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Senator Francis Pangilinan, a member of the committee, said a clash with the Palace is inevitable because the Senate will not be satisfied with the explanation of certain Gloria Bondoc, finance office director of the Office of the President, who in a letter to Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio said: "The Office of the President has not released, disbursed any amount to your province subject to your letter dated October 15, 2007."
Panlilio, who was present in the hearing, was the first local official to admit in public that he received money in Malacañang last month through Bulacan Governor Jonjon Mendoza.
The priest-turned-governor also said he did not believe that the money came from the coffers of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP).
“I relied on my conscience that is why I came out. I did not spend the money because I believe that as newly elected public official, I choose to be guided only by two things in performing my duties and obligations to the people: First my firm belief in a faithful God; and second, my strong conviction to ensure transparency and accountability at all times,” Panlilio told the committee.
The Senate secretariat announced that the paper bands of the five bundles were all marked with the bank's name and the person who withdrew the amount has been identified as certain Bondoc.
Committee chairman Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the initials stand for Wynona Yumol Bondoc of Barangay Sta. Rosario, Mabalacat, Pampanga.
"We intend to expose the source of the money amounting from P200,000 to P500,000 that was distributed to administration congressmen and local government officials in a meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Palace. Knowing where the money came from is vital in this exercise because it obviously did not come from heaven, as the Palace apparently would like us to believe," Pangilinan said.
Panlilio presented in the Senate hearing five bundles of money worth P500,000 he received after a governors' meeting in Malacañang on October 11.
It was Mendoza, according to Panlilio, who handed to him the money through his staff.
The Pampanga governor said he presented himself before the Senate investigation because he would like to contribute his humble share to the goal of establishing the truth in the process of transparency and accountability in government.
Cayetano said it was Bukidnon Representative Teofisto Guingona III who gave him the necessary information that established where the money really came from.
In his letter, Guingona said the information could be relevant to the Senate investigation especially since the LPP, the association of governors, had said the money given to Panlilio came from its funds.
Guingona said due to the Bank Secrecy Law, the Anti-Money Laundering Council should be asked to investigate and determine the owner of the bank account.
Cayetano said his committee would be inviting both Wynona Bondoc, the alleged source of the money, and Gloria Bondoc in order to establish the connection between the two. (CPB/Sunnex)
