Former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday disputed Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s claim that at least P700 million in public funds was wasted during the 28 days he led the Senate.
In a Facebook Live broadcast, Cayetano questioned how the figure was computed and argued that it was based solely on the Senate’s estimated daily operating expenses.
“Sabi ko, saan kaya galing ‘yun?” Cayetano said.
He explained that the P700 million figure appeared to have been derived by multiplying the Senate’s estimated daily operating cost of P25 million by the 28 days he served as Senate president.
“P700 million divided by 28 days is P25 million,” he said.
Cayetano noted that Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian had previously cited P25 million as the Senate’s estimated daily operating expense based on the institution’s budget.
“Meaning, yung budget ng buong Senado, divided by the number of calendar days,” he said.
According to Cayetano, attributing the entire amount to his tenure as Senate president was misleading because the Senate’s operating costs would have been incurred regardless of who occupied the position.
“Kung ganung kasimple ang computation mo, kahit sino po ang Senate President, P25 million a day ang gastos ng Senado,” he said.
Cayetano also accused his critics of selectively presenting figures to create a negative impression.
“Statistics is like a bikini. What it shows is very revealing, but what it hides is essential,” he said.
The former Senate president further alleged that some of his political opponents were coordinating attacks against him and using the issue to divert attention from other matters.
Lacson had earlier said that the Senate leadership dispute and the disruption of legislative work resulted in at least P700 million in wasted public funds, based on the Senate’s daily operating costs during the period in question.
The leadership row ended on Wednesday after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was formally elected Senate president with the support of 13 senators during a special session.
