MANILA – An administration senator, who is noted for her temper, again went ballistic on Monday, which was caused by a quarrel with her colleagues regarding a Senate inquiry on a World Bank (WB) report on corruption in the public bidding on a major road project funded by the WB.
In a privilege speech, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago denounced her peers for taking away from the Committee on Economic Affairs, which she chairs, the jurisdiction over the investigation of the WB corruption allegations.
Due to the “collusion” to control the bidding, the WB announced from its headquarters in Washington D.C. that it had blacklisted three Filipino and four Chinese construction companies from participating in other projects funded by the bank.
Santiago vehemently protested the decision of the Senate leadership to take away from her committee the lead role in investigating the alleged corruption and assigned it instead to the Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by independent Senator Richard Gordon.
In her speech, Santiago minced no words and accused some of her colleagues, whom she did not identify, of “coddling” the Filipino companies allegedly involved.
“I am suffering from chronic fatigue, but I cannot let this pass because it involves corruption,” the outspoken woman senator stressed. “The attempt to remove it (investigation) from my committee is highly suspicious. Is one of the contractors behind it? Are some senators spooked? Even worse, are some of them involved?”
After finishing her tirade, Santiago angrily stormed out of the Senate session hall to show her protest.
But before she walked out, she also served notice she would not entertain questions from her colleagues, as is usually the practice whenever a member delivers a privilege speech especially on a controversial issue like the WB report on corruption.
Santiago became the economic affairs committee chairman following the recent ouster of Senate President Manuel Villar and his replacement by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
On Thursday, Santiago wrote freshman Senator Miguel Zubiri, the new majority leader and chairman of the Committee on Rules, to oppose a motion to transfer the hearing to the Blue Ribbon Committee
The feisty senator explained that she had already set the first hearing of her committee on Tuesday.
But despite her protest, Santiago, Zubiri and the other Senate leaders decided to allow the Blue Ribbon committee to conduct the investigation without informing her.
In its report, the WB blacklisted the E.C de Luna Construction Corporation, Cavite Ideal International Construction Corporation and CM Pancho Construction Incorporated for the alleged scandal.
Also blacklisted were four Chinese firms which allegedly colluded with the three Filipino firms in “rigging” the bidding, namely: China Road and Bridge Corporation, China State Construction Corporation, China Wu Yi Company Limited and China Geo-Engineering Corporation.
The seven companies participated in a bidding on contracts under Phase 1 of the Philippine National Roads Improvement and Management Program (NRMP 1), which the WB had agreed to fund.
Due to the discovery of the alleged scandal, the WB said it had stopped about $33 million from being awarded as part of the project.
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[...] Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago identified the officials as Secretary Margarito Teves of the Department of Finance, Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane of the Department of Public Works and Highways and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. [...]