Pinoy VOTE

MANILA, Philippines -- Despite Malacañang's denials, three veteran administration congressmen on Friday admitted envelopes containing cash were distributed during Thursday's breakfast meeting at the Palace called by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Their admissions further bolstered the Philippine Daily Inquirer story that envelopes were passed around during the meeting attended by about 190 lawmakers just before Ms Arroyo's supporters took a decisive step in Congress effectively thwarting any serious move to impeach her.

Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco admitted he got an envelope containing P200,000 (approximately US$4,600) in cash that he said was a "Christmas gift."

Cuenco said he did not see any malicious intent in the cash distribution, adding it was the "usual" Christmas gift congressmen had been getting every year.

But Cuenco refused to say who distributed the money or if he was referring to Ms Arroyo as the source of the Christmas gift that congressmen "usually" received every year.

He criticized people who connected the "Christmas gift" to the impeachment complaint filed against Ms Arroyo.

Cuenco also said he did not know who distributed the envelopes.

Two other administration lawmakers also said they received a similar amount but asked not to be identified because they did not want to compromise their positions in case of a shake-up in the leadership of the House of Representatives.

Inquirer sources said the distribution of the envelopes was accompanied by Palace promises that the "pork barrel" allotments of the congressmen would be released soon--either before or after the Oct. 29 barangay elections.

Malacañang scoffed at the report, while some other congressmen insisted no cash flowed during the meeting.

"If rumor-mongering could generate income, the Philippines would have the highest GDP (gross domestic product) in the world," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a text message.

For his part, Secretary Cerge Remonde, the head of the Presidential Management Staff, said he asked Cuenco about his admission and that Cuenco told him it was just a "joke."

But nowhere in Cuenco's taped radio telephone interview over Cebu's dyLA did he say that he was just joking.

His tone was serious. At some point he sounded evasive and irritated when pressed for details about the "Christmas gift."

Cuenco was first asked to comment on the Inquirer story about congressmen getting from P200,000 to P500,000 each and being promised up to P70 million in pork barrel.

Cuenco cut in, saying in Bisaya: "Way pork barrel. Ang gipanghatag gagmayng amount ... pinaskuhan tingale to [There was no pork barrel. What was given was a small amount. Perhaps, it was a Christmas gift]," Cuenco said.

'Dos sientos'

Asked to reiterate if congressmen received cash, he answered: "O diha, diha ... pinaskuhan [Yes, there was ... there was ... Christmas gift]."

He stressed the amounts were "small" and varied from one congressman to another.

Cuenco said he only got "dos sientos" (200). Asked if he meant P200,000, he answered in the affirmative. He also said "yes" when asked if the money was placed in an envelope.

Cuenco sounded irritated when asked why they were getting Christmas gift this early.

"Sagdi na, ayaw nalang ko og lalisa basta mao na [Let it go. Don't argue with me. That's enough]," he snapped.

Then he abruptly ended the interview, saying he no longer wanted to be interrogated.

"Don't interrogate me anymore ... Please. I am telling you what I experienced. Don't ask me about the experience of other [congressmen]," he said.

A senior administration congressman said the money given them in Malacañang was something the administration was beholden to give.

"That's their obligation as our leaders in the ruling coalition," the lawmaker said. But he said there was no mention of support for the Palace position on the impeachment issue.

"We were just given our envelopes as we went our way," he said.

A member of the House leadership expressed the same view.

"It is expected from the party whether you think the party is Malacanang or not," the House leader said, adding the party gives such cash gifts as the House goes on recess -- "with or without impeachment."

More denials
Other congressmen in Cebu also denied there were payoffs.

Raul del Mar, Deputy Speaker for the Visayas, said he did not know of any congressman who received cash.

"If you give cash to more than 150 (congressmen), definitely somebody would talk about it. I don't think they are that careless to do that, so I don't think there is any truth to that," Del Mar said.

Other Cebuano congressmen who attended Friday's birthday celebration of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, where Ms Arroyo was guest of honor, also denied that money changed hands.

Outright denials also came from Rep. Benhur Salimbangon, who said congressmen were not cheap, and Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, who dismissed the report as "so ridiculous."

Rep. Pablo John Garcia asked where his share was if the report was true while Rep. Ramon "Red" Durano VI said he was not in the meeting because he was in Cebu.

Negros Occidental congressmen also denied they received P500,000 and promises of pork barrel.

Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer said he attended the breakfast at Malacañang but all he did was shake the hands of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and left early.

Another congressman, asking not to be identified, admitted he, too, received cash on Thursday but said the amount came--not from Ms Arroyo--but from the budget of the House of Representatives and partly from the funds of Speaker Jose de Venecia.

He said it was distributed, not during the breakfast with Ms Arroyo but at the Batasan Complex. He said the money came in the form of checks.

"It's unfair to connect the release of the amounts to the impeachment complaint against the President," he told the Inquirer. He said the distribution might have appeared "questionable" only because it came amid speculation about what De Venecia would do with the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Roel Pulido.

Ready for release
De Venecia later decided to inhibit himself from referring the complaint to the committee on rules and eventually to the committee on justice, delegating the job to Del Mar.

Opposition lawmakers said they expected the justice committee to eventually kill the impeachment complaint.

This would mean that Ms Arroyo would be immune from any other impeachment challenge for another year, under House rules.

The legislator who said that he received money from the House budget also said congressmen had received word that part of their "pork barrel" for the second half of the year was ready for release. The amount supposedly was between P15 million and P20 million.

But he made it clear that congressmen would not actually receive cash amounts because the funds would go straight to government agencies that would implement specific projects.

3-month allowance, bonus
To show that the amounts distributed to congressmen the other day were "aboveboard," the source gave the following breakdown: of the total cash amount, P150,000 represented a three-months' allowance while the remainder of P70,000 was a "bonus" from De Venecia.

"The amount is usually distributed to congressmen before they take their semestral break," he said. "It's just unfortunate that they came in the middle of a controversy. That's why forces out to sow intrigue found a good and convenient subject."

The source said the monthly allowance that came with the P220,000 check had corresponding documents that lawmakers had to sign as proof of receipt.

"If the money was meant to bribe anyone, why would you have him sign a legal document?" he asked.

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