(Stock photo)

By Dexter Barro II 

The House Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday, July 16, lifted the detention of the alleged aide of San Simon, Pampanga Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. on the basis that he will tell the truth in the panel’s next hearing.

Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, the committee chairperson, said Loreto Santos has made a promise in his letter addressed to the House members in case he is once again found lying.

“In the next hearing, if he will be found lying, we will cite him in contempt and part of the undertaking is he will be detained in the Quezon City Jail,” said Paduano.

Santos was previously cited in contempt, alongside Punsalan, for lying to the committee.

Both were found to have violated paragraph c of Section 11 under the Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation of the House of Representatives Rules, specifically for “refusal to answer any relevant inquiry”.

Mayor Punsalan, who has faced several preventive suspensions over alleged irregularities in a land purchase, claimed in a previous hearing that Santos is his chief of staff who reportedly attended meetings on his behalf.

“Malabo po kasi ang sagot ni Mayor, nagtuturuan sila (Because the Mayor's answer is vague, they are pointing fingers at each other)…Dine-deny din ni Mr. Santos na chief of staff siya (Mr. Santos is also denying that he is the chief of staff). And in fact, the record shows that he was not listed as an employee of San Simon, Pampanga,” noted Paduano.

Before moving to lift the contempt, Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop asked Santos if he prefers a detention inside Batasang Pambansa Complex or the Bicutan City Jail.

“Mr. Santos, pwede po bang malaman ko, alin po ba ang mas masarap? Makulong dito o makulong doon sa Bicutan?” asked Acop.

(Mr. Santos, may I know which one is better? Being imprisoned here or being imprisoned there in Bicutan?)

“Mas masarap po dito (It’s better here), Mr. Chair,” answered Santos.

Acop replied, “Ano ang dahilan? Kasi bago mo nasagot ‘yun, alam mo dapat dahilan ‘di ba? (What is the reason? Because before you answered that, you knew there had to be a reason, right?)

“Mahirap po sa Bicutan, jail po kasi ‘yun eh. Although empty hindi po siya air-conditioned, dito po air-conditioned ‘yung kwarto natin,” Santos responded.

(It's hard in Bicutan, because it's a jail. Although it is empty, it is not air-conditioned, our room here is air-conditioned.)

Acop eventually moved to lift the contempt order on Santos, noting that he will be released as soon as Secretary-General Reginald Velasco receives the release order.

This motion was approved without any objections.

Paduano then directed the committee secretariat to coordinate with the sergeant-at-arms to escort Santos and have him brought to the health center inside the Batasan Complex for a check-up before leaving the facility.

Before his release, Santos had nine days left in his detention inside the House premises.