MALACAÑANG yesterday said President Arroyo has ordered the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to drop its investigation on the distribution of "cash gifts" to local government officials at the Palace grounds after a meeting of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines last Oct. 11.

The Palace statement said the President’s decision was on the advice of Palace lawyers and came in the wake of reports that the Ombudsman is investigating the incident.

The statement said Arroyo’s decision was also prompted by the possibility that PAGC’s investigation would be a "waste of time and resources" because its jurisdiction is limited to presidential appointees.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said last week that the President ordered the PAGC to conduct an investigation as early as Oct. 12.

He said the probe order was made public only last Oct. 17 because Arroyo was "bothered and a little bit upset because of the notion that this thing was not receiving her attention."

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., in an interview in Malacañang, denied allegations that the "cash gift" came from the House of Representatives.

"Do you believe that? Yung pera galing sa Congress dadalhin pa namin dito? Ikakalat natin dito? Huwag naman nating ginagago ang bayan, ang mga tao, with statements like that," he said.

Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, secretary general of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), said Governors Ed Panlilio of Pampanga and Joselito Mendoza of Bulacan should just turn over the money they received to the LPP "for the(ir) peace of mind."

"This noble gesture on their part will also be a positive development for the LPP in general, because this will hopefully put an end to the unfair and baseless conjectures concerning its members amid media reports about the supposed wholesale distribution of cash gifts to governors and other elective officials during that ULAP event at Malacañang," he said.

Evardone said he never told Mendoza that financial assistance for the barangay elections would be given to governors during a separate meeting at the Palace.

He said he asked Mendoza if he or Panlilio were working on barangay projects for their constituents.

He said he felt it was his duty as LPP secretary general to assist fellow governors in improving governance in their provinces, "including briefing them on possible funding sources for their projects from official or private sources."

QUESTIONABLE

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel slammed the League of Provinces for placing newspaper advertisements calling for a "stop the political noise and focus on economic growth."

"They (League of Provinces) have so much money that is unaccounted for. Even the League of Barangays has a lot of money. You can see that somebody is really funding them massively to divert the attention of the people," he said.

He said the act of the League of Provinces in putting up the newspaper ads was questionable due to the allegation that some governors were paid off to come to the President’s rescue now that she is confronted with another political crisis.

He said the opposition cannot just close its eyes and keep silent in the face of the blatant act of bribery, rigging of government contracts and other fraudulent transactions being committed by the present administration.

He insisted that Arroyo hand over the reins of the government to Vice President Noli de Castro.

"Let him (De Castro) prove himself that he is a better alternative than Gloria and that he will not steal the money of the people. That is our challenge to him."