Former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson laments the feud between two senators over the new Senate building in Taguig City, July 5.
“While the public hearing conducted by the Committee on Accounts is a correct call by the present Senate leadership since the issue involves public funds, the ensuing exchange between two former colleagues last Wednesday was painful to watch, to say the least”, Lacson said in a statement on Friday.
Senator Nancy Binay walked out during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, after exchanging heated arguments with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
The Senate Committee on Accounts’ hearing, led by Cayetano, focused on reviewing the new Senate building in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
Binay argued that based on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) records, the building’s overall cost was just P21.73 billion. Contrary to the P23 billion that Cayetano included in a June 6 letter to Senate President Chiz Escudero.
Cayetano refused and reiterated that the computation should include the P1.6 billion total cost of land acquisition. This prompted an intense debate between the two senators.
As the former head of the committee, Lacson was deeply saddened because he had envisioned the new Senate building as iconic, secure, functional, and environmentally friendly.
“It is sad that it is now perceived, rightly or wrongly, as another symbol of government abuse of public funds”, Lacson said.
Nancy Binay was the former Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Accounts. Cayetano assumed the position following the change in Senate leadership last May of this year.
The hearing proceeded after Escudero ordered the review of the project concerning the increase of the construction budget from P23 billion to the original P8.9 billion.
Escudero initiated a meeting with Lacson and former Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III to further discuss the review plan.
Additionally, Lacson reached out to Cayetano and requested a meeting to discuss the project's details for a smooth transition and transfer of responsibilities. He also encouraged Cayetano and Binay to meet to tackle possible issues regarding the construction.
As previously mentioned, DPWH claims that construction delays were due to a variation of orders, and nothing was unusual. Commission on Audit, on the contrary, claims that there are notable irregularities in the building construction.
