Puno Senate probe begins Friday

MANILA, Philippines – Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, Cabinet secretaries and anti-jueteng advocates are invited to this week’s Senate hearing on the controversial undersecretary.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago announced that the investigation on Puno will begin on Friday, September 14. Santiago is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revisions of Codes and Laws.

In a press statement, Santiago said that her committee will begin the probe, calling it “Evaluation of the DILG Undersectary Rico E. Puno Event, under the Administrative Code and the 1990 DILG Act, as amended by the 1998 Police Reform Act.”

Santiago said Puno is invited to the hearing along with the following:

• Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr
• Environment Secretary Ramon Paje
• Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
• Interior and Local Government Secretary-designate Manuel Roxas II
• Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Nicanor Bartolome
• Arcbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, head of Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng
• Lawyer Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona Robredo, wife of the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo 

President Benigno Aquino III announced over the weekend that Puno is on his way out of the DILG. Aquino said Bartolome will retire early from the PNP to take over Puno’s position.

‘Unique and exceptional powers’

Santiago has said the investigation will cover questions surrounding Puno’s attempt to retrieve documents from the condominium unit of Robredo.

Aquino has said he authorized Puno to secure Robredo’s files in his offices but clarified that he did not order the undersecretary to go to Robredo’s residence.

Santiago said she also wants to investigate Puno’s alleged links to operators and find out how much he supposedly gets in jueteng money.

“I would ask him, ‘Sinong kahati mo diyan sa jueteng?’ (Who are you sharing jueteng money with?) That would be my first question to him. Why would you beat around the bush? It’s very clear, jueteng is already poised to bite [him] in the nose,” Santiago said in a radio interview on Sunday.

The senator said she also wants to know who is the “backer” responsible for Puno’s appointment, and what she called Puno’s “unique and exceptional powers” in the department.

After the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, it was revealed that there was an internal arrangement to have Puno control the PNP while Robredo would only be in charge of the local government component of the department.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has expressed support for the investigation. – Rappler.com