Lagman: We are not juvenile

Manila, Philippines - House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman denied yesterday the accusation of presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda that opposition congressmen are “juvenile.”

“What is juvenile about a demand that errant officials be disciplined and dismissed?” he said.

Lacierda made the accusation in reaction to the statement of the minority bloc that they would initiate investigations into the alleged misdeeds of President Aquino’s shooting buddies, specifically Virginia Torres, who is about to resume her job as Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief, and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno.

Lagman said it is Lacierda who thinks like a child for protecting President Aquino as if the Chief Executive was a child about to be robbed of his lollipop.

He said while the Palace official claimed that Torres and Puno have already been investigated, “he failed to state that the results of the investigation by the DOJ (Department of Justice) panel on Torres and the Incident Investigation and Review Committee on Puno were adverse.”

“Lacierda said that the minority is making noise because Congress had adjourned, implying that they do not have a venue for fireworks. He is wrong because the minority works with or without sessions and during adjournment. Unlike other officials, we do not rest during the day and play at night,” he added.

After Lagman and his colleagues vowed to investigate Torres, Palace officials said the President would review the DOJ recommendation that she should be dismissed for meddling in a dispute between two factions in Stradcom, LTO’s information technology provider.

Commenting on the minority’s threat to investigate the President’s so-called shooting buddies, House leaders said they would not allow the House to be used for a “fishing expedition.”

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the opposition should file charges against Torres and Puno before the Ombudsman’s office if they have evidence.

However, he conceded that the minority is free to file any resolution seeking an investigation.

“It will be referred to the proper committees,” he said.