‘Cayetano suspension a lesson for lawmakers’

The recommended 45-day suspension of Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano should serve as a lesson to members of the House of Representatives who cannot substantiate their allegations, a senior lawmaker warned yesterday.

"The moral lesson is: Don’t say anything you cannot prove," House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles said, referring to Cayetano’s failure to present proof to back his statement that the First Family has secret bank accounts holding millions of dollars in Germany.

The House ethics committee, headed by Bohol Rep. Roberto Cajes, recommended that Cayetano be slapped with the suspension, but this was not taken up or approved by the House plenary on Feb. 8 for lack of time.

The suspension without pay will only be implemented if it is affirmed by a two-thirds vote, or the approval of 154 House members.

"I think it’s a given that Alan was not able to prove (his) accusations. That’s why the report (of the fact-finding team that traveled to Munich, Germany) was such," Nograles said. "Politically, I think it has given him (Cayetano) a lot of name recall, considering the air time he received."

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte had recommended Cayetano’s suspension. Villafuerte also accused Cayetano of improper and un-parliamentary conduct and behavior, after Cayetano failed to substantiate his allegations.

"(Cayetano) fabricated, lied and made malicious charges and has not presented an iota of evidence," Villafuerte said. "I think the time has come that we decide, based on the strong preponderance of evidence." – Delon Porcalla