Remulla calls Blue Ribbon report revision 'just politics'

The revision of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report on the flood control controversy is “just politics,” Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Tuesday, stressing that testimonies and records gathered by the panel remain valuable evidence.

Remulla made the remark amid reports that the committee report would be revised following deliberations within the Senate.

“That’s politics. What is acceptable to all, rather most, is the most important thing. There are those who will sign the committee report, provided that his or her name won't be included there. But witnesses identifying them, Blue Ribbon Committee records, are intact. Besides, we already know what happened ahead of the report,” Remulla said.

He said that from the perspective of the Office of the Ombudsman, information coming from the Blue Ribbon Committee remains useful in pursuing investigations.

“As far as we are concerned, if we can get information from the Blue Ribbon, that would be good since it will help us in doing our job,” Remulla said.

Earlier, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, who chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, said the report would recommend the conduct of preliminary investigations against Senators Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, and Jinggoy Estrada over possible offenses including direct bribery, plunder, graft, malversation, and violations of ethical standards.

Lacson said only the wording of the report was revised and that there were no substantive changes from the original draft.

He earlier said the committee initially intended to recommend the filing of criminal and administrative charges against senators and former lawmakers in connection with its probe into alleged anomalous flood control projects.

The revisions, Lacson said, would not weaken the report’s recommendations, explaining that the original draft used the terms “charged” or “recommended to be charged.”

Remulla explained that the change in wording was meant to reflect proper legal procedure.

“In layman's terms, when you say the word 'charged,' it’s as if it is already in court. So we just specified that instead of using the word 'charged' or 'to be charged,' we will use to undergo preliminary investigation, to undergo fact-finding investigation, or to undergo case build-up,” he said.

Linked to the alleged kickback scheme are Escudero, Villanueva, and Estrada, as well as former Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and former Bulacan First District Engineering Office district engineer Henry Alcantara.

The two former DPWH officials have been named as state witnesses, alongside DPWH engineer Gerard Opulencia and contractor Sally Santos, owner and manager of SYMS Construction Trading.

Remulla added that any change in Senate leadership, including the chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon Committee, would not affect the credibility or merit of testimonies already presented during earlier hearings.