6/05/2013 01:54:00 AM
JENG
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile Resigns as Senate President; His Reasons Delivered on Valedictory Speech
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile irrevocably resigned as Senate president on the last day of the 15th Congress.
In his valedictory speech, Enrile said: “I refuse to lend my hard-earned name as a convenient refuge to those who cannot face the public and defend their own honor. I refuse to allow anybody, whether in or outside the halls of this Chamber, to just freely trample upon the name that my late father, Alfonso Ponce Enrile, had so kindly allowed me to carry with pride.”
He said he will not allow any Senator, specifically a “self-confessed psychological case” and “the son of my former partner, the late Senator Renato L. Cayetano” trample on his name.
“I do not need nor intend to use the powers, perquisites and trappings of the Senate Presidency just to cling to it or to secure this position for myself when the 16th Congress opens in July…Let us all be men and women worthy of being called "Honorable Senators." And let the chips fall where they may,” he said.
He said it’s about time that each and every senator answer and be accountable to the Senate’s reputation. He said it is not just about moving on after the mid-term elections, where his son lost.
He said the Senate is not just about Juan Ponce Enrile.
“I will leave each of my colleagues to explain directly to the people who elected them their respective positions on these issues and to account for their own budgets, as I have always been ready to account for my own. I can no longer speak for them. I refuse to be anyone's scapegoat and everyone's whipping boy,” he said.
He said he was left alone when the backlash came because of the alleged “cash gifts” he gave to colleagues.
He said: “Senator Drilon, as Chairman of the Finance Committee, knows only too well how the apportionment of the chairmanships over these oversight committees can be a real headache for any Senate President. He was the first one to call my attention to it at the beginning of this Congress.”
He said the Senators view the chairmanships of these oversight committees as a form of entitlement, and ”it was impossible for me to satisfy everyone.”
He hopes that Drilon would be able to find a solution to “adequately satisfy” each of his colleagues.
Drilon is being eyed by the administration to replace him.
“I suffered the anger of the public as the media branded all that I had authorized for release to the Senators' offices last December as my personal ‘CASH GIFTS’ no matter how hard I tried to explain the nature of these disbursements from the Senate's coffers and my own office's savings,” he said.
He noted the setback suffered by his son in the elections.
“The common analysis of political observers was that my son's candidacy suffered from the fall-out of the bitter criticisms and accusations hurled against me by some people in this Chamber who I had displeased, just as we were entering the political campaign season.”
He said he had endured all the pain suffered by his son.
“He carried on his shoulders the weight of all the mud thrown against me. As I stayed and watched quietly by the side lines, my heart bled for him.”
Enrile said it’s time for him to go. He said he already knew this even before all votes came in to bring administration candidates towards the Senate.
“Even as millions of votes were still unaccounted for, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad already foresaw the outcome. He was quoted as saying that the first order of the day when Congress opens in July is to replace me as Senate President and to re-elect Speaker Belmonte as Speaker of the House,” he said.
He said old age may have impaired his vision, but “I can still see and read clearly the handwriting on the wall. I need not be told by anyone when it is time for me to go.” - ABSCBNNews.com
In his valedictory speech, Enrile said: “I refuse to lend my hard-earned name as a convenient refuge to those who cannot face the public and defend their own honor. I refuse to allow anybody, whether in or outside the halls of this Chamber, to just freely trample upon the name that my late father, Alfonso Ponce Enrile, had so kindly allowed me to carry with pride.”
He said he will not allow any Senator, specifically a “self-confessed psychological case” and “the son of my former partner, the late Senator Renato L. Cayetano” trample on his name.
“I do not need nor intend to use the powers, perquisites and trappings of the Senate Presidency just to cling to it or to secure this position for myself when the 16th Congress opens in July…Let us all be men and women worthy of being called "Honorable Senators." And let the chips fall where they may,” he said.
He said it’s about time that each and every senator answer and be accountable to the Senate’s reputation. He said it is not just about moving on after the mid-term elections, where his son lost.
He said the Senate is not just about Juan Ponce Enrile.
“I will leave each of my colleagues to explain directly to the people who elected them their respective positions on these issues and to account for their own budgets, as I have always been ready to account for my own. I can no longer speak for them. I refuse to be anyone's scapegoat and everyone's whipping boy,” he said.
He said he was left alone when the backlash came because of the alleged “cash gifts” he gave to colleagues.
He said: “Senator Drilon, as Chairman of the Finance Committee, knows only too well how the apportionment of the chairmanships over these oversight committees can be a real headache for any Senate President. He was the first one to call my attention to it at the beginning of this Congress.”
He said the Senators view the chairmanships of these oversight committees as a form of entitlement, and ”it was impossible for me to satisfy everyone.”
He hopes that Drilon would be able to find a solution to “adequately satisfy” each of his colleagues.
Drilon is being eyed by the administration to replace him.
“I suffered the anger of the public as the media branded all that I had authorized for release to the Senators' offices last December as my personal ‘CASH GIFTS’ no matter how hard I tried to explain the nature of these disbursements from the Senate's coffers and my own office's savings,” he said.
He noted the setback suffered by his son in the elections.
“The common analysis of political observers was that my son's candidacy suffered from the fall-out of the bitter criticisms and accusations hurled against me by some people in this Chamber who I had displeased, just as we were entering the political campaign season.”
He said he had endured all the pain suffered by his son.
“He carried on his shoulders the weight of all the mud thrown against me. As I stayed and watched quietly by the side lines, my heart bled for him.”
Enrile said it’s time for him to go. He said he already knew this even before all votes came in to bring administration candidates towards the Senate.
“Even as millions of votes were still unaccounted for, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad already foresaw the outcome. He was quoted as saying that the first order of the day when Congress opens in July is to replace me as Senate President and to re-elect Speaker Belmonte as Speaker of the House,” he said.
He said old age may have impaired his vision, but “I can still see and read clearly the handwriting on the wall. I need not be told by anyone when it is time for me to go.” - ABSCBNNews.com
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