Proto Thema’s exclusive weekend report of a government decision to directly award a 500-million-dollar tender for the modernization of five maritime surveillance planes continued to cause political reverberations this week.

On Wednesday, it was ruling SYRIZA’s Parliamentary group leader, Nikos Filis, who expressed serious qualms over the decision taken by his party’s government, albeit promoted by DM Panos Kammenos, the junior coalition party leader.

“I consider the answers given on the issue created with the five planes satisfactory. However, there is a general issue at hand. During a period when the social and economic crisis mandates that we count every last cent, and when we’re trying to desperately find 200 million euros to deal with extreme poverty, we must be careful,” Filis said, speaking during a Parliamentary session by the relevant public utilities’ committee on the appointment of a new board of directors for the state-run Hellenic Defence Systems company.

“… I don’t want to enter into the question of necessity, because I do not know what the information in the file lists. This discussion must be held, however, in the future,” he added.

He also agreed with a proposal by Parliament President Zoe Konstantopoulou for the convening of a joint session with Parliament’s weapons procurement committee to discuss the contract – an indirect but clear “hint” by the latter that the contract should have been sent to Parliament for debate and approval.