Local News: Solons Willing to Sign Waiver for Dollar Accounts
Two congressmen outside Negros Occidental have expressed willingness to take the challenge of Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona to open their dollar accounts.
At the presscon Saturday evening in Bacolod, Congressman JV Ejercito ( Lone District of San Juan City) and Congresswoman Mitos Magsaysay (1st District, Zambales) said they are willing to sign the waiver. But they have different opinions on the impeachment trial regarding Corona’s testimony.
They were guests during the Visayas Conference of the Sangguniang Kabataan held at the Grand Regal Hotel, then attended the birthday party of Bago City Mayor Ramon Torres and meet with the local chief executives of the fourth district with Congressman Jeffrey Ferrer.
Actually, Ejercito was one of the 188 congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint while Magsaysay was not, but she stated she does not mind signing the waiver.
They both are members of the United Nationalist Alliance, Ejercito being with the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and Magsaysay recently took oath as a member of the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP-Laban). They are running for senators in 2013 under the said alliance.
Estrada is for the resignation of Corona but also lauded the magistrate for taking on the witness stand, he said.
"I know it is a painful process because we have been through it but I hope he will just resign to save himself and his family from further pain."
To Cong. Magsaysay, if the senator judges would base their verdict on the evidences presented, she believes Corona will not be impeached. However, it will be a different story if the issue will become political, she said.
Why she joined UNA, Magsaysay defended her decision amid criticism that she is a staunch ally of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was Vice President Jejomar Binay who invited her to join UNA, based on her credentials, not on previous political affiliation. She won as independent candidate for congresswoman in 2004 elections, but she joined Lakas because one can not get a committee if not a member of the said party. Almost everyone who got elected during the time of former President Arroyo became an ally of her administration. But she said, " it doesn’t mean that if you are a member of the administration you are branded as bad."
On the other hand, she also pointed out that most of the Congressmen who are with the administration’s Liberal Party are mostly former members also of Lakas. "Only one thing I don’t like about it, because they are such hypocrites," Magsaysay pointed out.*
