enator Francis
Pangilinan sent me a message clarifying some issues I raised in my column last
Friday titled "Who’s afraid of Adel Tamano?"
In that column, I discussed Pangilinan’s objection to the
plan of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, to get
Adel Tamano as general counsel to set the direction and pace of the
investigations the committee would undertake.
It has been reported that Pangilinan resented the statements
of Adel, who was spokesperson of the Genuine Opposition, on his ambivalence
about joining GO. I said that Pangilinan should not blame Adel about the public
perception that he is an opportunist because people have not forgotten his
"Noted, Noted" act during the presidential canvass of the 2004 elections.
I said: "Even without Tamano, the public knows that he owes
his electoral victory largely to his megastar wife. He will always be remembered
as an accomplice to Gloria Arroyo’s stealing of the presidency when he relegated
to "Noted, Noted," to evidence of Gloria Arroyo’s cheating in the 2004
elections."
I also wrote that although Pangilinan has his personal issues
with Adel, my sources said he was just acting as hatchet man for Malacañang
because the young lawyer is seen as one of the opposition’s senatorial bets in
2010.
Pangilinan wrote:
"While I respect your views expressed in your column today, I
disagree on some points raised.
"1) I was never a party to electoral fraud in 2004 and when I
found out about Hello Garci, I did not hesitate to call for the resignation of
GMA.
"2) I think my being wooed by the opposition in ’07 and my
victory despite being an independent shows that the ‘Mr. Noted’ has been set
aside as a non- issue. If it were truly an issue, why was the opposition open to
having me in their line up? I believe it was because I had shown a consistency
in taking stands in opposition to GMA from ’05 to ’07. My refusal to join the
admin ticket despite the offer of P150 million is proof of this.
"3) My victory, I believe, was a combination of both a solid
track record and support of my wife, my family. Without the solid track record I
don’t think victory would have been possible.
"Why, because other showbiz candidates didn’t make it. "
"I hope I have clarified some matters.
"Oh and I am certainly not a hatchet man of anyone."
One thing that struck me in Sen. Pangilinan’s message was his
disclosure that the administration offered him P150 million to join Team Unity.
Offers of hundreds of millions of pesos were talked about
during the campaign but this is the first time that someone has admitted it on
the record.
This jibes with the information that Malacañang was buying
everybody to be in their side. Senate President Manuel Villar was also offered
P150 million and Sen. Loren Legarda, P200 million. Like Pangilinan, the two
rejected the offer and went on to win under the opposition ticket.
I’m thinking that that means Sen. Joker Arroyo got his P150
million. So did Ralph Recto, who lost. I can imagine almost the same amount was
offered to Tito Sotto, who was rating high until he joined the administration.
I imagine Team Unity must have been awash with money last
election. Huge amount of money. Our money.
There is one amusing reaction to last Friday’s column. A reader wrote: "Hindi
maaring awayin ni Kiko Pangilinan si Alan Cayetano. Paano kung magsumbong si
Alan sakanyang kapatid na si Lino. Sasabihin ni Lino sa kanyang girlfriend na si
KC (Concepcion). Iiyakan ni KC ang kanyang Mommy Sharon. Babatukan ni Sharon si
Kiko. Ang takot lang ni Kiko kay Mega."