Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday criticized Senate President Vicente Sotto III for transferring ex-Bulacan DPWH Engineer Brice Hernandez from Senate custody to the Philippine National Police (PNP) without consulting other senators.
Cayetano said Sotto’s move amounted to “changing rules” unilaterally, risking the Senate’s integrity.
“I don’t think we should change rules without doing it either in caucus or as a group. Shouldn’t we keep the old rule na kung sino may custody, ‘yan ang mag-keep ng custody niya?” he said in an interpellation.
While the Minority Leader acknowledged the “wisdom” of the Senate President, he stressed that Sotto should have considered how the public might perceive the decision.
He also emphasized that this should not set a new rule moving forward.
On September 8, Hernandez was cited in contempt during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control projects, and detained in the Senate the same day.
That evening, the House of Representatives requested his presence in its own investigation. During that hearing, Hernandez asked not to be returned to the Senate.
According to Sotto, House Speaker Martin Romualdez wrote him requesting that Hernandez be held at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame instead – an arrangement Sotto approved.
Cayetano argued that the Senate, not outside requests, should decide the matter since Hernandez was under its custody.
“Since this involves high-ranking people and the PNP is not under the Senate, it creates another perception of who controls who,” he said.
The Minority Leader warned that sending Hernandez to the PNP could be seen as validating the witness’ claim that senators were trying to influence him.
“May perception tuloy that by not having him back here, eh baka nga totoong ini-impluwensyahan natin… ‘Yan ang impression ngayon [ng publiko], which I think is unfair to all of us,” he said.
“The issue here is not only the physical and the legal custody. The issue also is the integrity of the Senate. Labanan ngayon ng perception,” he continued.
“Na-disrupt y’ung sistema ng corruption. Pero ang ginagawa pabalik ng mga corrupt, dini-disrupt din tayo. Dini-disrupt din ang pag-investigate,” he added.
