NO LEGAL IMPEDIMENT TO INQUIRY
INTO HELLO GARCI SCANDAL -- PIMENTEL

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today debunked the argument that the Senate will be committing an illegal act if it investigates the "Hello Garci" scandal because of the Anti-Wiretapping Law (Republic Act 4200).

Pimentel said RA 4200 insofar as protecting the privacy of individuals does not apply in this case because this involves national interest which should always prevail over private interest.

He said that if the subject is mere rumor, then the Senate has no business investigating it.

Pimentel pointed out that what is being looked into by the legislature is the alleged attempt to rig the results of the 2004 presidential election as revealed in the taped phone conversations between President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

The Senate moved to reopen the inquiry after retired T/Sgt. Vidal Doble, of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines resurfaced and volunteered to testify on what he knew about the Hello Garci tapes.

Pimentel said the President herself admitted that it was her voice at the other end of the telephone line.

On the rights of the parties involved that may be violated, he said neither the President nor Garcillano sued any person involved in exposing the tapes.

"The parties involved have already been exposed and nobody has done anything to prevent the disclosure of the tapes" he said.

He also held the view that the oversight functions of the legislature that are prescribed by the Constitution cannot be limited or superseded by a mere law, RA 4200.

The minority leader laughed off the warning that the senators may be jailed if they pursue the investigation on the ground that they will be violating the Anti-Wrapping Law. He said the House of Representatives investigated the Hello Garci scandal and even played in full the taped conversations in the course of the hearing but no congressman was thrown into jail.

"If there is anyone who should be jailed, it should be Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, because he was the first to publicly reveal the Hello Garci tapes," Pimentel said.

Pimentel said that those blocking the Senate investigation of the Hello Garci scandal are obviously motivated by one purpose, to cover up the truth and protect the guilty parties.

The resolution authorizing the Senate to constitute itself into a committee of the whole was referred to the committee on rules after some administration senators objected to the move.

After the committee on rules has acted on the matter, Pimentel said he will call for a roll call vote on the resolution so that the public will know who are the senators who are pushing or blocking the inquiry.