A lawyer filed on Thursday, Jan. 22, an ethics complaint against Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito for "gross neglect of duty".
Senator JV Ejercito (Senate PRIB photo)
In a post on Facebook, lawyer Marvin Aceron said that Ejercito, who chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, ignored their complaint against Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero for 109 days. The complaint was in relation to the P30-million campaign donation from Lawrence Lubiano, owner of Centerways Construction
"Today, we filed an ethics complaint against Sen. JV Ejercito, the Ethics Committee Chairman, for willfully failing to do his constitutional duty," Aceron said.
In a Viber message, Ejercito confirmed receipt of the complaint.
The senator said that the committee is not yet fully constituted and therefore cannot hold meetings or conduct hearings at this time, adding that its membership has yet to be formally manifested and completed.
"In addition, the Senate has been in the midst of budget deliberations and the Bicameral Conference Committee over the past months, which left no opportunity for the matter to be read at plenary," he said.
"On a personal note, I unfortunately dealt with health issues too for much of December," he added.
Ejercito assured that the Ethics Committee will convene and hear pending cases once it is fully constituted and when the session resumes, and that the said cases will be heard in order of filing.
On being named in the complaint, he recognizes that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and has the right to raise concerns or seek appropriate remedies under the law.
"That is how democracy works," he said.
"But I would also like to stress that we are a government of laws, and we will proceed in accordance with Senate rules and due process," he added.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III also issued a statement amid the filing of a possible ethics complaint against Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa by former Senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV.
Sotto said that any concerned citizen may file a complaint against any senator.
"We shall process the complaint in accordance with our Senate Rules. When already properly referred, the Ethics Committee Chairman will update the public," he added.