Rep. Alcover: Please make good of your threat

By ANAD Partylist
January 16, 2012

QUEZON CITY  –  “This representation never made a statement directly accusing President Benigno Aquino III of bribing the 188 Congressmen to sign the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.”

These were the words of ANAD Rep. Jun Alcover that reverberated on the hallowed plenary halls of the House of Representatives, in his privileged speech today (January 16, 2012), as he dared the House Majority Leader Rep. Neptali Gonzales, Reps. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, Roger Espina of Biliran, Rene Relampagos of Bohol, and Cesar Sarmiento of Catanduanes to make good of their threat to have him investigated, by the Ethics Committee, for maligning the integrity and credibility of the House of Representatives, and face possible expulsion from the body.

Rep. Alcover said that the issue raised by the four (4) Congressmen and the Honorable Majority Floorleader, “Is a result of the overzealousness by the majority block to pin me down. . .without checking the facts, even extending a simple courtesy of calling me up to hear my side,” he explained.

Rep. Alcover pointed out that new story published in the SunStar Cebu, dated Dec. 20, 2011 under the byline of Elias Baquero and Princess Dawn Felicitas carried the same statements he made in an earlier radio interview with Baquero in the program ‘Yagyagan’ over DYDD, Cebu City. “But these were instantly played up by media in Manila . . . with statements of Majority Floorleader Gonzales, and Reps. Evardone, Relampagos, Espina, and Sarmiento saying that I shall be investigated by the Ethics Committee once Congress resumes session on January 16 for making false accusations that has put the Lower House in bad light,” he added.

The ANAD solon explained that the already tenuous situation was further inflamed when an enterprising Ike Durano, station manager of DYRF, called up and interviewed Rep. Neri Colmenares on the matter. “Claiming balanced and fair reportage, Durano called me up and took my side on the issue. Practically, in my interview with Durano, I just repeated the very same things that I’ve said during Elias Baquero’s radio program. Immediately after our interview, Durano ranted with expletives and innuendoes accusing me of things I never committed nor possessed in my lifetime. . . . Durano’s diatribe best exemplifies how media personalities use the airlanes . . not only to do a ‘sip-sip’ but devilishly devour anything they wanted for selfish personal intentions!” he stressed.

Reiterating and declaring innocence of the accusation heaped by the 5 Congressmen against him, Rep. Alcover declared “In all that I’ve said in these interviews, there was no mention, whatsoever, nor even finger pointing and accusing President Aquino III of bribing the 188 Congressmen . . .”

Revealing an alleged Malacañang plot to exterminate pro-democracy legislators, Rep. Alcover said that the abduction case against former Representative and retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., was swiftly resurrected to include the very unjust and unfair trial by publicity,  “This Representation already knew months before the holiday recess that I am one of those targeted for extermination by Malacañang and ably supported by majority block of this chamber.”

In saying that the ‘guns are trained against him’, Rep. Alcover described this as brutal harassment against a fellow member of Congress. “Why not include those who resigned from the positions in this Congress? Those who bolted from the Liberal Party immediately after either they signed the impeachment complaint or refused to sign it and many others who bravely faced the media and made startling revelations?” he pointed out.

Among others, Rep. Alcover pointed to Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco who admitted that the “lawmakers who impeached the Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, acted in haste. . .I resigned from the Majority and relinquish all positions assigned to me” (SunStar Cebu, Dec. 13, 2011); and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Benjamin ‘Benjo’ Benaldo in saying, “I am a neophyte Congressman. I feared my constituents would be deprived of funds. If I did not represent my people (in my district), I would not have signed the complaint,” (Deputy Speaker submits resignation, by Paolo Romeo, www.philstar.com, December 18, 2011), respectively.

Also, Rep. Alcover said that the House deliberately failed to: a) expel then Rep. Eric Singson, who admitted his crime on illegal drugs before a Hongkong court, but instead allowed him to resign from his position; b) failed to expel Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. of the province of Dinagat Islands despite the warrant of arrest issued by the Sandiganbayan for graft against him, plus the parricide case Ecleo is facing in a regional trial court in Cebu City.

Warning that creeping authoritarian leadership always leads to despotic governance, Rep. Alcover asked, “Is this the so-called ‘Daang Matuwid' that PNoy blaringly sounded at the Quirino Grandstand, in June 30, 2010?”