Senate ethics panel set to approve own rules

THE Senate ethics panel, chaired by Sen. Francis Tolentino, convened on Wednesday for the approval of the committee's own rules.

Tolentino said there would be a conciliation process as part of the rules to be participated in by the seven members of the committee, including Senator Nancy Binay, who filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. If the conciliation process fails to settle the case, a proper hearing will follow.

The majority leader said this is the first time that conciliation will be included in the rules of ethics.

Senate ethics panel, chaired by Sen. Francis Tolentino. (Voltaire F. Domingo / Senate Social Media Unit)

«There are matters that we will leave to the complainant and the other person that should be settled on a personal basis, but there is also transparency,» Tolentino said when asked about the importance of not publicly hearing the case.

Binay on July 8 formally filed an ethics complaint against Cayetano, saying the latter resorted to name-calling and making baseless accusations against her and some personalities.

In her complaint, Binay urged Tolentino to hold Cayetano «accountable and liable for all of his „unparliamentary“ conduct, which violates the Rules of the Senate, the Revised Penal Code, the Civil Code and Employees, and Civil Service regulations.

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