Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson on Sunday dared House minority leaders Edgar Erice and Antonio Tinio to investigate themselves the allegations linking President Marcos Jr. to flood control kickbacks if they possessed the evidence, as he insisted that the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) will not engage in “hearsay.” 

Erice and Tinio drew the ire of Lacson by repeatedly urging the BRC—which the senator heads—to look into the alleged text exchanges between Marcos and former legislative liaison officer Adrian Bersamin as part of its ongoing probe into the flood control scandal. 

Bersamin, according to Tinio, posed as Marcos’ “bagman,” and the supposed messages concerned collections from flood control projects. 

Erice, on the other hand, took issue with the BRC’s apparent neglect to probe the extent of Bersamin’s involvement in the kickback scheme, especially since it was Lacson himself who implicated the resigned Malacanang official in the corruption issue.

“What is the reason that he did not investigated them? He’s acting strange. When he heard a little information about an employee of Doris Magsaysay's Forbes Park, he quickly summoned it [to the hearing] but he refused to invite Cabinet members? It seems that he is afraid of them, especially those close with the Palace,” Erice told the Daily Tribune in a message.

Lacson, in response, asserted that he does not buy such claims, asserting that it will remain “hearsay” unless the two minority lawmakers present corroborative evidence to substantiate the allegations. 

"Where is [the evidence]? It's just triple hearsay. Congressman Erice [and] Congressman Tinio keep on talking, but they really don't know anything,” Lacson said in Filipino in a radio interview. 

‘Triple’ hearsay

The information regarding the text exchanges allegedly came from Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, who is also critical of the administration’s flood control projects and is currently abroad.

Erice and Tinio were purportedly among the lawmakers who saw the exchanges between Marcos and Bersamin. 

Citing the messages, Tinio alleged that Bersamin reported to Marcos regarding the purported kickback deliveries to Narra Residence, which stood at P2 billion as of 10 July 2025.

Lacson, however, argued that if some House lawmakers had obtained such compelling evidence, they could have called for a swift investigation in the lower House, rather than insisting that the BRC take up the matter.

"If they were made aware of what happened, why did they not conduct an investigation in the House? Why are they instead insisting on it to the Blue Ribbon Committee?" Lacson lamented. “Because it's hard to take action based on gossip. It's like you're doing a witch hunt.”

Moreover, he said he was surprised to learn that Erice and Tinio also knew of the supposed exchanges, since he had been told by Leviste that he was the only person aware of the issue.

Lacson added that he also began to question the credibility of Leviste’s allegations because Leviste was unable to answer follow-up questions from his staff. 

Another glaring example was Leviste’s failure to raise the issue of the alleged kickback exchanges at the last BRC hearing in January, which he attended. 

“I’ve already said that I'm not targeting anyone, regardless of the personality, but I will not cover up for anyone either,” he stressed. 

Lacson averred that he would call for an investigation only if Erice and Tinio could provide corroborating evidence. Otherwise, he said, they would “shoot arrows at the moon.” 

Marcoleta hit, too

Lacson also took a swipe at Senator Rodante Marcoleta, the former BRC chair, after baring plans not to sign the committee’s partial report. 

Marcoleta cited the non-inclusion of several lawmakers tagged in the flood control scandal, including ex-House speaker Martin Romualdez, and former Cabinet secretaries and Malacanang officials like Bersamin, despite their alleged involvement being explicitly mentioned in the BRC hearings.

"He was not mentioned in the hearing. That's wrong. His premise is always wrong. Bersamin was mentioned when I interpolated during the DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee),” said Lacson, referring to Bersamin. 

During the Senate’s plenary deliberations on the 2026 budget in November, Lacson linked Bersamin and former DepEd undersecretary Trygve Olaivar in the kickback scheme, saying he “misrepresented” the President to insert up to P100 billion in the 2025 budget. 

Citing information from former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Lacson said Bersamin and Olaivar might have invoked the President’s name to gain leverage and push the budget insertions.