Miriam to Jinggoy: Name senators linked to Tuason

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago challenged Sen. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday to identify the other senators who he claimed have dealt with potential state witness Ruby Tuason in relation to getting kickbacks from approved pork barrel projects in recent years.

Santiago pointed out that Estrada would improve his credibility once he names names and backs his claims with evidence.

“Yes, because it places us all in a cloud, and it is not fair to those who are not implicated. And it also will prove he is in good faith when he makes statements like this, when he makes general statements and then backs them up with specific details. It will improve his credibility,” Santiago said.

Santiago, who grilled Tuason when she attended the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing last week, noted that there is a “direct collision” on statements of Tuason and Estrada during the last hearing on the pork barrel scam.

Santiago recalled that Tuason admitted having approached only two senators – Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Estrada – because they are the ones whom she personally knew.

During the hearing last week, Tuason testified that she did not approach other senators to facilitate the release of funds for their pork barrel projects.

“Why didn’t you just approach all the 24 senators since you already approached two? and then she said, ‘No, I did not approach anybody else’,” Santiago said, recalling her discussion with Tuason in last week’s hearing.

“Now, Sen. Estrada is saying Ms. Tuason also approached other senators. So there is a direct conflict,” Santiago noted. However, such conflicts could only be resolved in a court of law, not at legislative hearings, the senator said.

Estrada has called on his colleagues to come clean on their ties with Tuason at the height of his word war with Blue Ribbon chairman Teofisto Guingona III, whom Estrada accused of prejudging the pork barrel case following Tuason’s revelation.

Tuason claimed that she personally delivered kickbacks to Estrada at his Senate office.

Guingona said that the testimony of Tuason was a “buzzer-beater, three-point winning shot.”

Estrada was irked by Guingona’s statement and insisted that he had prejudged the pork barrel scam case, calling it “an offensive foul.”