Robinhood nails it

Senator-judge Robinhood Padilla has consistently directed some of the toughest questions in the impeachment trial not so much at the witnesses as at the horde of hypocrites he sees in attendance.

The proceedings, supposedly intended to hold Vice President Sara Duterte accountable, have turned into what critics describe as a fishing expedition and an exercise in petty nitpicking.

To her supporters, these exchanges only expose what they see as a desperate effort to find any technical ground to disqualify her from seeking the presidency in 2028.

Padilla put the House prosecutors on the spot with a seemingly simple question: Do any of them drive expensive vehicles bearing the coveted “8” license plate? He asked whether any of them arrived at the hearings in a black Mercedes-Benz wagon reportedly worth P22 million.

He used the occasion to urge the prosecutors to support the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, which he said had reached the Bicameral Conference Ccommittee stage.

Padilla is worried about a repeat of the FOI Bill’s defeat in the 14th Congress in 2010, after it cleared the Bicam but failed to get ratification from the House of Representatives on the final day of the session.

The FoI is considered the ultimate transparency law since it will require public officials in all branches of government to proactively publish key records online, such as budgets, audit findings, procurement contracts worth P50 million or more, beneficial ownership details of contractors, and the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of top officials.

Designated officers must process requests within strict deadlines. To obtain records that are not already posted online, citizens must submit a written or electronic request.

Disclosure is the general rule, meaning agencies can deny access only under narrow legal exemptions like national security, ongoing law enforcement investigations, or personal privacy.

The prosecutors whom Padilla addressed were trying to pin on VP Duterte’s husband, lawyer Mans Carpio, supposed profligacy in spending over P2 million at Nike Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the shoes of a basketball team.

Padilla thus fired back at the prosecution panel, asking whether those in it also did a lifestyle check on each other.

The FoI Bill, said the senator-judge, will reveal who among the politicians in this country are living lavishly without any transparency.

Lavish spending, as it stands, is aptly depicted in the P22.9 billion budget for the ASEAN Summit, about seven times what was spent in the previous administration.

The Duterte administration hosted the ASEAN Summit in 2017, with expenses reaching P3.789 billion.

“Some people made money from it again. Some people pocketed cash again. That’s all it means,” a Duterte Cabinet official said.

“Senator Robin gave the well-fed House members a stinging slap in the face for their hypocrisy. They should look at themselves in the mirror. You guys should be ashamed. Total phonies,” the former Cabinet secretary said.

“Those senators and House legislators are just dirty, raking in huge amounts of money along with Department of Public Works and Highways officials and who knows who else. They should be ashamed,” he added.

The government has allocated P22.9 billion for the ASEAN Summit, an amount that still does not appear to add up based on the Palace’s explanation of the spending.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the government undertook various preparations, including renovating the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), the Coconut Palace and the World Trade Center.

Infrastructure in Cebu and airport facilities were also improved. The allocation, she explained, covers deploying more than 22,000 police personnel for security, working alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Presidential Security Command and other agencies.

Castro also mentioned the thousands of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority personnel tasked with managing traffic. The explanation still falls short of accounting for the enormous sum.

The figures may begin to add up, however, when the scandalous overpricing exposed in the Floodgate controversy is brought into the picture.