House to subpoena Imee Marcos over tobacco tax probe

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on good government has voted to subpoena Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and six other provincial officials after they failed to attend the hearing on tobacco excise tax on Monday.

Asked to appear in the next hearing with Marcos are Eden Battulayan, Pedro Agcaoili, Evangeline Tabulog, Josephine Calajate, Encarnacion Gaor and Genedine Jambaro.

They are the same officers the committee investigated in connection with the alleged misuse by the provincial government of P65 million in tobacco funds.

The probe stemmed from Resolution 882 filed by House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas.

During the hearing, committee vice chairman Gabriel Bordado read a letter from the six provincial officers informing the panel that they received information that the committee had submitted a report to the House regarding Resolution 882.

The six asked to be given time to consult their lawyers on what steps to take. They said they should be excused from appearing in future hearings.

The committee members said the inquiry is no longer about Fariñas’ resolution, but on Resolution 1126 authored by Rep.  Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna.       

They said Marcos and the six officers should be compelled to attend the next hearing that would be held after the seven-week Lenten recess of Congress, which starts this weekend.

Lawmakers will reconvene on May 14.

In the resolution, Zarate and his colleagues asked the House to look into the use of Ilocos Norte’s share from tobacco tax and the projects undertaken by the provincial government from 2006 to last year.

Should Marcos and the six provincial officials fail to attend the next hearing, they could be cited in contempt by the committee and ordered arrested and detained.

The House previously detained the six for refusing to cooperate in the House inquiry.