What began as whispers of irregularity in flood-control projects has exploded into what Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson described as a full-scale “inside job robbery” of the Filipino people.

Lacson, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, condemned the systemic corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), where lawmakers and officials allegedly colluded in ghost and substandard projects.

“With all that has been exposed so far by our Senate inquiry, even my ‘corruptionary’ won’t have the words for the insatiable greed of those government officials involved in what I can only describe as an ‘inside job robbery’ committed against the people of the Philippines,” Lacson said.

The committee’s probe has uncovered staggering schemes: cash deliveries by contractors to DPWH engineers, kickback demands by junior staff, and a so-called “leadership fund” allowing lawmakers to insert pet projects into the National Expenditure Program — allegedly a channel for kickbacks and padded contracts.

As this developed, the Department of Justice confirmed Thursday that an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) has been issued for Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co who has been linked to the scandal.

“We’re tracking him. And many people and agencies are helping,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said, adding that the DoJ had access to Co’s flight details and boarding pass, which suggested he may be in Spain. He did not elaborate.

An ILBO directs the Bureau of Immigration to monitor attempts by a person under investigation to leave the country. It is distinct from a Hold Departure Order, which legally bars travel.

Co has been the subject of complaints for alleged betrayal of public trust, placing him at the center of the widening probe.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s Senate hearing saw conflicting testimonies. Former DPWH assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez retracted his lawyer’s earlier claim that he had implicated six senators.

Asked by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to clarify, Hernandez said the data in his computer pointed not to senators but to congressmen.

“Yes,” Hernandez told Sotto, “those in my computer are congressmen.”

But another witness, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, cast suspicion elsewhere.

In his affidavit, Bernardo implicated Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, claiming that he delivered 20 percent of approximately P800 million — about P160 million — to businessman Meynard Ngu, allegedly a close friend and campaign contributor of Escudero.

Senator Erwin Tulfo, however, found Bernardo’s testimony “lacking.”

“I thought that in his next supplemental affidavit, he would mention congressmen, but he just reiterated Senator Chiz Escudero’s name. So we were waiting for him to mention someone,” Tulfo said, noting that the former DPWH official was already a protected witness.

“It’s weak, a bit weak, that he only mentioned one senator,” he added, stressing that budget insertions originated in the House.

“Everyone is saying there are congressmen involved because all of these budget insertions emanated from Congress, so we were surprised that he didn’t mention anything about Congress.”