EDITORIAL - Why a Basa presscon inside the Senate?

There was a sideshow at the end of last Wednesday’s abbreviated hearing of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial at the Senate whose implication largely went unnoticed by both the Senate leadership and the public at large.

The sideshow involved an impromptu press conference called by the Basa family right inside the Senate building. To recall, the Basa family figured prominently in the testimony of Corona last Tuesday.

In that testimony, Corona traced the causes of the conflict that has divided the family. Corona’s wife belongs to one side of the conflict. Those on the other side were present during his testimony and took offense at some of the things he said.

They were the ones who called the press conference yesterday. There would have been no problem with that. If they felt aggrieved by the pronouncements made by Corona, they are well within their rights to call a press conference to rebut him.

But there was a problem. They held their press conference within the confines of the Senate. Just because they were mentioned in Corona’s testimony does not automatically empower them to hold a press conference within the Senate.

They are outsiders and cannot use the Senate or any of its facilities as a venue for a press conference that dealt with a manner that was personal and involved only their family. And as these facilities use up electricity, they cannot use taxpayers money for their own purposes.

It is not clear if they sought permission from the Senate leadership to conduct their press conference within the Senate. But knowing the astuteness of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in determining what is right from wrong, it is doubtful if he would have given it.

Enrile certainly would not want the Senate to be associated with the Basa family one way or the other. Allowing them to hold a presscon in the Senate for a purely personal issue could send the wrong signal that the Senate favors one party over the other in the Corona trial.

If Enrile did not know about the press conference, then he must be told so that he can cause an investigation to be made as to who allowed the Basa family to hold their presscon inside the Senate.