De Venecia has urged the five House committees conducting a probe into the Garcillano wiretapping controversy to end the inquiry before the Christmas break.
Congressmen Douglas Cagas (NPC, Davao del Sur) and Eduardo Zialcita (Lakas, Parañaque) said De Venecia’s proposal should be heeded by the five House committees conducting the joint hearings on the wiretapping incidents involving former Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
Both members of the committees conducting the probe, Cagas and Zialcita said that the House bodies have already exhaustively inquired into the matter.
They said that whatever additional information the joint panel would exact from Garcillano should be incorporated in the final report but the appearance of intelligence agent TSgt Vidal Doble is no longer unnecessary.
Opposition lawmakers want Doble, an agent of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to return to the witness stand for the third time since the congressional hearings started last June.
When questioned by members of the committees, Doble denied any involvement in the alleged wiretapping of telephone conversations supposedly made by Garcillano with President Arroyo and several other politicians.
Cagas, head of the House contingent to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, said this week’s resumption of the tape probe will provide lawmakers adequate time to question Garcillano.
"Let the lawmakers raise issues that have long been bugging them and let Garcillano answer them and probe that he is not lying," said Cagas.
The Mindanao lawmaker said that the tape probe must end before the Christmas break so that lawmakers can enjoy the holiday break.
"The message of Christmas is that God so loves the world that He gave His only son to us. Our people deserve a respite from all this political noise during the season," he said.
Zialcita, chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, said the termination of the tape probe before Christmas break will unclog the House calendar.
"As the Speaker said, we should start 2006 with a focus on other priorities of the House like the national budget, anti-terror bill and charter change.
"We have exhaustively tackled the tape issue, it’s time for us to move on to other priorities," Zialcita stated.
However, the opposition appeared indifferent to the calls for a ceasefire in political squabbling.
Former Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson, spokesman for former President Joseph Estrada, said Filipinos can only enjoy the Christmas spirit once Arroyo decides to step down and return Malacañang to the "truly elected chief-ofstate, President Estrada."
Joson, who ran and lost in last year’s senatorial race, said that a series of mass actions will be staged by his group to pursue peaceful moves for the return to power of Estrada.
Transport, labor sectors’ decision to forego mass actions backed by groups
Commuters, homeowners and other groups supported yesterday the decision of transport and labor sectors to forego mass actions and strikes between now and the end of 2005 to help make Christmas and New Year a true season of peace, understanding, harmony, cooperation and national unity.
The National Council for Commuters Protection (NACC), the Homeowners Association of the Philippines (HAP), and the Kapisanan ng Malayang Pilipinos (KMP) and the Confederation of Filipino Drug Entrepreneurs (Confide) said that a peaceful, productive and meaningful holiday season is a fitting climax to 11 months of political bickering and other grave problems that pushed the nation to the brink of disaster.
"Every year, the government and its enemies always proclaim a ceasefire in deference to the observance of Christmas and New Year but this is the first time that transport and labor groups have decided to forego protests, mass actions, and transport and labor strikes," KMP president Cris B. Vitug said.
"Let’s hope that the strike-free December advocated by transport and labor groups will be matched by the employers with a decision not to resort to shutdown unless extremely necessary," Vitug said
Confide President Adolf V. Ortega said the first thing that commuters and homeownes hate most are transport strikes and lockouts in December that worsen the traffic situation and add to the economic difficulty. (E. T. Suarez)
