Ping report remains in limbo

Amid the controversial Floodgate report, Senator Erwin Tulfo confirmed Sunday that he signed the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s partial output on the flood control probe with “reservations,” citing concerns that some senators recommended for preliminary investigation were “singled out.”

“I think that’s one of the reasons why it’s challenging for Blue Ribbon to get nine signatures because of that issue,” he said, partly in Filipino, in a radio interview.

The document in question recommends that the Ombudsman conduct a further investigation into Senators Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva, who have been accused of receiving millions in kickbacks from flood-control projects.

Tulfo, who co-heads the powerful panel with Senator Ping Lacson as the chairman, signed the report to advance it to the plenary for amendments, saying he intends to modify it by including other high-profile personalities, such as members of the House of Representatives and other big-time contractors implicated in the scheme.

He argued that their non-inclusion raises concern that the report may be “selective.”

“There were a lot of names mentioned other than the three senators. Some House members were also mentioned, but why weren’t they included? It’s like the three were singled out,” he stressed.

3 signature short

As of last week, the BRC still lacks three of the majority’s signatures to advance the partial report to plenary for deliberation.

Lacson asserted that he won’t plead to BRC members, particularly those from the minority bloc, who have contested the partial report and criticized his leadership of the high-stakes investigation.

He blamed the reluctance of other majority members to sign the report on the pressure from the minority. Nonetheless, he reminded his peers that their conclusions must be based on their duty and not on peer pressure.

The BRC probe remains suspended pending the adoption of the partial report. It intends to invite former lawmaker Zaldy Co to its next hearing to face off with 18 supposed former Marines and his alleged ex-aide, Orly Guteza.