Lacson vows internal cleansing in Blue Ribbon panel

Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson vowed to prioritize internal cleansing within the Blue Ribbon Committee, aside from continuing where the former chairperson left off.

Lacson, who now chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, cited the need for internal cleaning after an alleged staff member of Senator Jinggoy Estrada was linked to a supposed “delivery of obligation” or bribe during a congressional hearing on Tuesday, 9 Sept.

"In the House committee hearing today (Tuesday), a Blue Ribbon staff member identified by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada as Beng Ramos was linked to a supposed delivery of obligation, aka 'lagay' by WJ Construction that was awarded a project by then Bulacan 1st DEO Henry Alcantara," Lacson said in a post on X.

"Since I am not sure if there is only one Beng Ramos in the Blue Ribbon Committee, which I was just elected by my peers to chair, just like (Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary) Vince Dizon, maybe I also need to do a simultaneous internal cleansing while buckling down to work," he added.

Former Bulacan Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez tagged Estrada as one of the senators who allegedly received a cut from the anomalous flood control projects.

In a House inquiry on Tuesday, Hernandez claimed that Estrada received a 30-percent kickback from P355 million worth of allocations.

Hernandez showed photos of Estrada with ex-Bulacan first engineering district head Henry Alcantara and screenshots of a message exchange involving an alleged member of Estrada's staff identified as Beng Ramos.

In denying the allegations, Estrada said he had no staff member named Beng Ramos since entering the Senate in 2004.

Estrada added that Ramos was a staff member of the Blue Ribbon Committee and a former girlfriend of one of his Senate staff.