Enrile: It was Puno’s duty to get docs

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile sees nothing wrong with Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno’s attempt to get documents from the condominium of his late boss.

In a press forum on Monday, September 10, Enrile said Puno’s move was aboveboard. On August 19, Sunday, Puno went to the Quezon City condominium of the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to try to get papers but was barred by the household help.

Enrile said the visit was not questionable owing to Puno’s position as undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“As I see it, there’s nothing irregular. I don’t think Undersecretary Puno went there to rob the house, to rob the condominium. He must have gone there to retrieve some records that he knew belonged to the department,” Enrile said.

The Senate President added, “He’s an undersecretary. He’s the number two man in the department. That’s his duty to see to it the records of the department are retrieved from whoever is in possession especially the secretary, the head of the department is dead.”

Enrile said that while he does not know the details of Puno’s visit, the undersecretary would not have gone to Robredo’s condominium in Quezon City if he were not authorized by the President.

“The President has the right to see to it that those state papers must be safeguarded,” said Enrile.

“We do not know whether Undersecretary Puno was authorized by the President to go to the residence of the former Secretary of the DILG to secure certain state records in his possession because those papers do not belong to the secretary, they belong to the department that he holds and they are state property.”

Enrile said President Benigno Aquino III would know what records Robredo has and the sensitive matters the secretary was handling.

Interviewed in Russia, Aquino however said that he only authorized Puno to secure documents from Robredo’s offices, not his condominium unit.

Asked why Puno also went to Robredo’s home, Aquino said, “Well, he probably thought there were also some documents there that needed to be secured.” 

‘Senate probe to reveal truth’

Some sectors questioned Puno’s visit to the Robredo residence citing reports that the papers included files on investigations concerning him. Puno is reportedly being investigated in relation to the bidding of arms supplies of the Philippine National Police.

The Senate President said he supports the call of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago for the Senate to investigate the issue and what she called Puno’s “unique and exceptional powers” in the department.

“I congratulate her for that and I hope she will do it so that we will know the truth,” Enrile said.

Over the weekend, Santiago said she will file a resolution calling for an investigation on Puno.

Santiago said she also wanted to investigate Puno’s supposed links to jueteng operators as well as the “backer” responsible for his appointment. The senator is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Revision of Codes and Laws.

“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. – Rappler.com