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By Sam Mediavilla, Reporter
Secretary Gabriel Claudio,
political adviser to President Arroyo, on Tuesday reiterated Malacañang’s
earlier decision not to meddle in the conflict between Senators
Joker Arroyo and Panfilo Lacson.
Claudio said Malacañang is
staying clear out of the organizational issues involving the Senate
particularly the chairmanship issue on the blue-ribbon committee.
“The Palace is staying clear of
those organization issues of the Senate, which we recognized and
respect as exclusive and internal to its members, more particularly
perhaps to the new incoming Senate majority,” Claudio said in a
text message.
The chairmanship row on the
Committee on the Accountability of Public Officers and
Investigations, or commonly known as the blue-ribbon committee, came
to rise after Lacson expressed interest in taking over its
chairmanship from Mrs. Arroyo.
Changes in the committee
assignments are expected to take effect next month once the
Fourteenth Congress opens in the third week of July especially with
the opposition dominating the recent midterm senatorial election.
Leadership in the blue-ribbon
committee has always been the target every time reorganization in
the committee assignments takes effect.
Among the controversies, which
the blue-ribbon committee investigated include the centennial scam
involving former President Fidel Ramos, the Philippine International
Air Terminals Corp. contract, the alleged money laundering activity
of Lacson and the reported Jose Pidal account purportedly owned by
the President’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.
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