Senate rejects Neri compromise

THE Senate on Wednesday night unanimously rejected the compromise offer of the Supreme Court (SC) that would enable acting Higher Education chair Romulo Neri to appear in the Senate without having to answer questions on the controversial NBN-ZTE deal.

"Wala kaming karapatan na pumasok sa compromise. Hindi namin kayang payagan dahil nasa Constitution ang aming karapatan. Mismong kami, wala kaming karapatan," Senate President Manuel Villar said after emerging from a one-hour closed-door caucus.

Villar stressed the Senate is not ready to surrender, albeit temporarily, its powers to conduct a probe, cite in contempt those who refuse to cooperate and issue an arrest order to those who continue to defy the subpoena of the Senate investigating committees.

He said senators overwhelmingly expressed disapproval on the proposal.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, chair of the Blue Ribbon committee, the lead investigating body, said the Senate was just doing its constitutional duty. "We did the right thing in ordering Neri’s arrest and in investigating the NBN-ZTE deal. We hope the SC will uphold our decision," Cayetano said.

"The proposal was defeated. Laban na lang kami," he added.

Cayetano said the Senate will just have to await the decision of the high court on Neri’s petition.

"Let the court decide. And we’re grateful to the SC for attempting to find a solution," he added.

He said the Senate tri-committee will resume its probe next Tuesday even without Neri.

At the end of the oral arguments Tuesday night, SC magistrates gave the senators and Neri’s counsels 24 hours to submit a joint manifestation that they are agreeing to the court-sanctioned compromise.

Should the parties agree to the compromise, the arrest warrant and citation for contempt on Neri would be lifted, and the Senate would continue with its interrogation, but not requiring to answer, for one, President Arroyo’s instruction to push the project despite his having told her of a bribe attempt.

Senators Joker Arroyo, Juan Ponce Enrile, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Edgardo Angara were not present at the caucus.

Enrile, however, had declared support to the Senate’s stance to turn down the compromise even before the caucus was called.

Among those who have pushed for the compromise offer was Sen. Manuel Roxas II.

Roxas announced Tuesday night that 12 senators are joining him in his stand including fellow Liberal Party senators Benigno Aquino III, Pangilinan and Sen. Rodolfo Biazon.

Roxas said he believes that the SC compromise would reveal more facts that have yet to be uncovered due to Neri’s non-appearance at the hearings.

Aquino, after the caucus, appeared to have changed his stand, stressing that the offer of the high court would be tantamount to giving up the powers of the Senate.

It was not clear if Biazon also changed his position.

Sources said those rejected the compromise offer were Villar, Cayetano, Richard Gordon, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Francis Escudero.

WIN-WIN SOLUTION

Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez defended the Court’s proposal saying it was a "win-win" solution.

Marquez said should the Senate decide to submit more questions for determination by the SC, it would enable the Court to more easily define the coverage of executive privilege.

SAD DEVELOPMENT

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz urged Neri to tell all.

"He has no choice but to tell the whole truth and hold on to whatever human dignity he still has," Cruz, a former CBCP president, said. – Dennis Gadil, Gerard Naval and Jocelyn Montemayor