Senate leaders confirmed on Wednesday that Senators Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva will be included in the list of legislators to be recommended by the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) for corruption charges, including plunder, arising from its exhaustive probe into the multi-billion-peso flood control scam.
Senate President Tito Sotto and Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson initially denied the authenticity of the 500-page draft committee report that was leaked to the media on Tuesday, which sought the filing of plunder, malversation of public funds, and direct bribery against Escudero, Estrada, Villanueva, former senator Bong Revilla and former members of the House of Representatives Zaldy Co and Mitch Cajayon-Uy, among others.
However, they also confirmed a day later that the names of Escudero, Estrada, and Villanueva—who belong to the minority bloc—were indeed included in the partial report, despite the three repeatedly denying involvement in the alleged kickback scheme.
“I think Joel's and Jinggoy's are accurate; that they're actually on the list. Chiz is listed at the second level. There are levels," Sotto said in a radio interview.
A caucus was held before the plenary session at 3 p.m. to seek the majority's approval on whether to release the report for plenary consideration.
Lacson, the chairperson of the BRC, said there have to be 11 signatories to the committee report to become official. Without the required signatories, “there can be no valid partial committee report to talk about."
“I welcome all concurring opinions and dissenting opinions. If they don’t want to sign, so be it,” Lacson told reporters in an ambush interview.
The signatories to the draft committee report include himself, Risa Hontiveros, Kiko Pangilinan, and Bam Aquino. Senators Migz Zubiri, JV Ejercito, and Win Gatchalian had withdrawn their signatures from the document, citing the need for further examination of the same.
"As the chairman, I am open to hear the suggestions/recommendations from the BRC members as long as everything is aligned with the practical realities, especially those already undergoing preliminary investigations by the Department of Justice and Ombudsman, which the partial committee report merely restated as part of its recommendations," Lacson averred.
Meanwhile, Senator Erwin Tulfo, a member of the majority, said he has yet to see the draft committee report.
Report to cost Sotto the presidency
Murmurs of a Senate shakeup have been swirling over the weekend amid an alleged dissatisfaction of senators with Sotto’s leadership.
Sotto had downplayed talks of a coup, though he said that if it were to happen, it could be due to his “strictness” in budget management, particularly “insertions,” and that another possible factor could be the sudden change in the leadership of the foreign relations committee, which was recently taken from opposition Senator Imee Marcos and handed to Senator Erwin Tulfo.
Lacson acknowledged the possibility that the impending BRC report could cost Sotto his presidency, but added that it’s “part of the game.”
“Just because of the mere committee report that they also participated in, they will back out and will remove the Senate president. I will take responsibility somehow,” he added.
Lacson on Tuesday slammed unnamed critics framing Senator Loren Legarda as responsible for the brewing efforts to oust Sotto.
He claimed that Legarda was lured to snatch the presidency from Sotto, but when the efforts failed, the narrative was twisted to make it appear that Legarda volunteered to help them gather support to replace Sotto.
Legarda also forms part of the majority bloc under Sotto. In September, she voted to oust then Senate president Escudero in favor of Sotto, who had just returned from the chamber following the May 2025 elections.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano explicitly said that “it was never a secret” for the opposition to reclaim the majority from the current leadership, though he added that they still don’t have the 13 votes to do so.
The minority would need 13 votes to remove Sotto as Senate chief. At present, there are nine members in the opposition bloc. However, their numbers could drop by one due to the continued absence of Senator Bato de la Rosa, who has been absent since November due to an alleged warrant from the International Criminal Court.