ABANG LINGKOD Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

ABANG LINGKOD Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano says he won't hesitate to cite Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba in contempt if the latter keeps on defying the summons of the House Committee on Public Accounts, which the former chairs.

"I will not preempt the decision of the committee and the members of the committee. But if you ask me personally, I will not hesitate to cite him in contempt of he will continuously defy the invitation," Paduano said in a press conference Tuesday, May 30.

The former House minority leader had this to say ahead of Wednesday's joint panel hearing on the alleged "open and massive distribution of cash and other forms of assistance to registered voters and barangays in the Province of Cagayan during the prohibited period from March 25, 2022 to May 9, 2022".

The inquiry is jointly being carried out by Paduano's committee and the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms chaired Mountain Province lone district Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr.

The scheduled hearing Wednesday, May 31 is reporteldy the solons' third attempt to hear the side of Mamba, himself a former congressman, on the alleged violations of the Omnibus Election Code.

"I will not hesitate to contempt somebody that will continuously defy the invitation of the committee and the House of Congress," reiterated Paduano.

"That is an insult not only to me, not only to the committee members, not only to the committee, but that is an insult to this institution where I belong," he said.

Committees in Congress can cite invited resource persons in contempt if they are deemed uncooperative or evasive during panel hearings. The process involves votation among panel members.

Also attending the press conference was Cagayan 3rd district Rep. Jojo Lara, author of House Resolution (HR) Nos 145 and 146 which were the bases of the joint House probe.

In particular, HR No.146 calls for an inquiry on the inaction of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the Cagayan provincial capitol's alleged cash distribution during last year's election season.

In an earlier presentation to the joint panel, Lara claimed that "More or less 10 days before the election, apparently as part of his grand scheme and design, Governor Mamba ordered the withdrawal, release, and disbursement of...more or less P550 million to P600 million and proceeded to massively distribute the fund province-wide to registered voters and residents of Cagayan."

Lara said P1,000 each were distributed to the registered voters "in the guise of 'ayuda to voters' under his Krusada Kontra Korapsyon" program.

Last year's national elections took place on May 9, 2022.