Senate hits defiant Makati probe ‘resource person’
The Senate Blue Ribbon committee rejected yesterday a position of Jack Arroyo, nephew of former Sen. Joker Arroyo, that the Senate has no authority to place him under arrest for refusing to attend a Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee hearing on the alleged overpricing of the 1.6 billion 11-story New Makati City Hall.
“I don’t think so. The committee is still drafting its reply to Arroyo’s fourpage reply to his arrest as ordered by Senate President Franklin M. Drilon,” Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said.
“Since time immemorial, even in several Senates before us and other Senate committees for that matter, they have the power to compel people to attend (public hearings),” Guingona said.
The arrest order for Arroyo was recommended by the Guingona committee as sought by the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee chaired by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.
Pimentel has been probing several alleged overpriced construction of Makati City buildings and other contracts covering services and supplies since August last year.
Arroyo said these issues have been discussed thoroughly by the committee and reported exhaustively in media.
“Nowhere and at no time was my name ever mentioned by the witnesses who have testified before the committee,’’ Arroyo pointed out.
‘What am I going to testify on? On a subject no witness has ever alleged that I participated in. In fact, I never defied any committee order. I signified early on that I would cooperate with the committee. I couldn’t attend the last hearing I was invited to because the subpoena was served at my residence when I was on a medical mission,’’ he stressed.
Guingona told Senate reporters yesterday that the Senate directorgeneral reported that summons for Arroyo had been served but he has not responded.
Arroyo maintained that the contempt citation and the arrest order cannot be enforced by the committee.