Ethics panel to assess complaint vs Cayetano

Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino yesterday said the ethics complaint filed by Sen. Nancy Binay against Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano will first be assessed before the Committee on Ethics and Privileges can act on its merit and conduct an investigation.

Tolentino, who is the committee chairman, told radio dyPM in an interview that the process involves the conduct of a preliminary investigation to determine if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance to warrant an investigation.

He said a complaint is considered sufficient in form and substance if it follows the correct format and procedure, contains an allegation or raises an issue, which the committee can act on.

Tolentino explained the process after Binay lodged an ethics complaint against Cayetano on Monday following their heated argument last week in relation to the ongoing Senate review of the ballooning construction cost of the new Senate building (NSB).

Binay formerly headed the Committee on Accounts, which oversaw the project. Cayetano took over the panel after a change in leadership in the Senate last May 20.

It was Senate President Francis Escudero who raised questions on the construction cost of the NSB, and asked the Cayetano panel to review the undertaking.

During last week’s committee hearing, the two senators engaged in a heated exchange after Binay said that the project cost will only be at P21 billion once completed. Cayetano said documents submitted to the panel showed the actual cost would reach P23 billion.

In her complaint, Binay alleged Cayetano accused her of providing a set of questions to the media during her radio interviews, and called her names like “Marites”, and “buang” (crazy).

Tolentino said an ethics complaint is unique since senators usually settle their differences in closed door meetings.

Members of both houses of Congress can punish their members “for disorderly behavior, and, with concurrence of two-thirds of all its members, (may) suspend or expel a member.

The authority is granted by the Constitution not merely to punish an individual member, but to protect the institutional integrity of the Senate, its proceedings, and its reputation.

Since 1924, at least five