Senator Ping Lacson contended Wednesday that he has no objection to the resumption of the Blue Ribbon Committee’s probe into the alleged corruption scheme in flood control projects, but insisted that it’s “illegal.”
His remarks follow relentless insinuations by Senate President Alan Cayetano that the minority attempted to halt the investigation scheduled for Thursday, the first panel hearing in nearly two months after it was suspended by Lacson—the former chair.
"No one is questioning. Let them proceed if they want. What are we afraid of? They will be the ones who will look stupid, not us, because what they are doing is wrong,” Lacson said in Filipino in a radio interview.
“For all we care, they can hold a hearing if they want, even if it's illegal. That’s legally infirm,” he added.
Lacson hinged his argument on Cayetano and allies’ insistence to proceed with the investigation despite the committee not being fully constituted as a result of the recent shakeup.
The BRC should be composed of 17 members, with eight coming from the minority.
Lacson furnished Cayetano with a letter clarifying how the panel will proceed with the hearing in the absence of the minority, but Cayetano countered that, under Senate rules, previous members of the committee could be retained pending the completion of a new one.
Cayetano accused the minority of deliberately withholding the election of their members to delay the flood control probe and to gain an upper hand over their colleagues in the majority, whom he alleged are being pressured to switch sides with the assurance that their looming criminal cases won’t proceed to courts.
He alleged that the minority, led by ousted Senate president Tito Sotto, has been weaponizing the BRC to retain full control over all the committees and reclaim the leadership.
In a Facebook live on Wednesday, Cayetano doubled down on his allegation that some members of the minority are aggressively undermining the new BRC out of fear that they will be exposed in the alleged corruption scheme.
“Maybe some of them have a reason to make noise, fight back, and discredit the Blue Ribbon, especially because their names were mentioned in connection with the 18 Marines. They were also allegedly among the recipients of suitcase,” he said.
The BRC, now headed by Senator Pia Cayetano, summoned controversial figures to the hearing, including former House speaker Martin Romualdez, Ombudsman Boying Remulla, and representatives from the DPWH and DBM.
The committee also invited the 18 Marines, or the so-called bagmen, who allegedly delivered suitcases stuffed with large sums of illicit money to the residences of top government officials, including President Marcos Jr.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta, vice chair of the BRC, encouraged the public to watch the investigation closely, saying it might be their last chance to expose the truth behind the scheme amid persistent murmurs of a counter-coup to oust Cayetano.