MANILA – Action star Robin Padilla on Wednesday said he is not out for revenge when he called for Senate President Franklin Drilon's resignation due to a brewing controversy over the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
In an interview with Anthony Taberna on “Umagang Kay Ganda”, Padilla admitted that it was Drilon who put him in jail for gun possession in 1995. Drilon, at that time, was Secretary of Justice under President Ramos.
“Wala akong galit kay Senador Drilon. Tingin ko nga diyan Superman kasi napakulong ako niyan. Ako na ang pinakamalokong tao noon at napakulong niya ako. Bilib ako sa inyo. Ngayon, dapat niyong ipagpatuloy ang kabiliban ko sa inyo. Ipakita niyo sa taumbayan na kaya niyong mag-resign at iwan ang kapangyarihan para lumabas ang katotohanan,” he said.
“Sabi nila masama daw ang loob ko kasi nakulong ako. Sa tingin niyo ba kung hindi ako nakulong, nandito pa ako ngayon? Wala ako dito. Ang pangungulungan ko ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa balat ng lupa sa buhay ko,” he added.
In the interview, Padilla said there was nothing personal about his call for Drilon's resignation. He said the Senate President should have "delicadeza" and set an example after Malacañang admitted that several senators got DAP releases after the conviction of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“Ako po ay isang Pilipino na nagbabayad ng buwis. Katulad ng maraming Pilipino dito, alam natin na naperpekto na ng BIR ang pagsingil ng buwis. Naperpekto na rin ng ating mga mahal na senador ang paggastos ng ating buwis,” he said.
He added: “Ako ay naniniwala sa prinsipyo na dapat ang kapitan ng barko ang huling tumatalon sa barko at kung mamarapatin ay sumama na sa paglubog ng barko. Sa nangyayari ngayon sa Senado, ang pinuno ang dapat magpakita ng halimbawa."
The action star said he will not let his friends in the Senate take the fall for the controversy over the misuse of the priority development assistance funds.
At least three senators - Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile - are facing plunder, graft and malversation charges for allegedly funneling their PDAF to bogus non-government organizations.
"Hindi puwedeng mga kaibigan ko lang ang ulong iikot dito. Hindi na puwedeng mangyari ulit na may isang artistang masasakripisyo. Lahat sila marumi, lahat sila madungis. Hindi pwedeng may sacrificial lamb na naman. Nangyari na sa akin iyan nung araw, sinakripisyo ako dahil artista ako. Totohanan na natin ang pagbabago. Ipakita niyo sa taumbayan na mag-resign kayo. Wala naman ng tiwala ang taumbayan,” he said.
Asked if he has any friends in the Senate, Padilla said: “Malapit na ang 2016. Itong mga kaibigan kong ito nangangarap na tumakbo bilang pangulo o pangalawang pangulo -- sina Jinggoy Estrada at Bong Revilla. Mga manong ko iyan. Malaki ang utang na loob ko diyan. Hindi ako lalaya kundi dahil kay Ramon Revilla. Pero hindi ako papayag dahil kapag nakipagkaibigan ako, walang iwanan. Ke nasa tama ka or nasa mali ka, itatama kita. Hindi kita papanigan, pero hindi kita iiwan.”
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was the first to reveal the DAP releases after the Corona trial, saying that the funds were over and above the regular priority development assistance fund (PDAF) allocations given to senators.
Drilon admitted that he received P100 million in DAP funds but denied that these were bribes from Malacañang to convict Corona.
“It’s not like I pocketed P100 million in kickbacks. The DAP allocation is not cold cash and but was merely a list of infrastructure projects recommended by legislators and local government officials to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.”
“We were only asked to list down a number of projects which were immediately implementable at that time in order to accelerate government spending and boost the economy,” he said.
Padilla then urged the Filipino people to remain vigilant and guard how the people who they elected are using the public’s money.
“Manatili tayong mulat sa mga nangyayari sa oras na ito. Huwag tayo malugmok. Kailangan tayong magkaintindihan at kailangang may mangyaring pagbabago. Kapag lumagpas po ito, mangingibangbayan na lang ako dahil masyado ng masakit,” he said.
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/10/02/13/robin-padilla-blasts-senate-lahat-sila-marumi
