The faction of Senator Alan Cayetano is reportedly pushing for the flood control investigation on Tuesday, even if it would be held outside the Senate premises, despite warnings from the camp of Acting Senate President that “rogue” hearings will not be entered into congressional records.
Former lawmaker and businessman Mike Defensor revealed in a Facebook post that the inquiry would push through at Doublegem EDSA Garden Events Place at 10 a.m., although there was no official confirmation from Cayetano and allies regarding this.
Gatchalian warned that the Senate—under his watch—will not recognize any parallel investigation conducted outside of the “duly constituted” Blue Ribbon Committee, which Senator Erwin Tulfo took over from Senator Pia Cayetano following the 3 June leadership shakeup.
He cautioned that the purported proceedings will carry “no legal weight” since it is unauthorized; therefore, no committee secretariat and stenographers will document the hearing.
“The Senate recognizes only one Blue Ribbon Committee, the one headed by Senator Erwin Tulfo. Any hearing or investigation conducted outside of this committee has no legal standing, carries no institutional authority, and will not be recognized by the Senate,” Gatchalian said.
Tulfo’s office released a separate advisory on Monday disputing Defensor’s claims of a scheduled BRC hearing.
He argued that Defensor is neither a member of the Senate nor the BRC, thereby any pronouncement from his camp alleging a flood control probe on the said date is rendered “illegitimate” or “without authority and approval of the committee.”
“He possesses no legal standing to announce any proceeding on behalf of the Senate,” the advisory reads.
“The Blue Ribbon Committee will not permit its name and institutional integrity to be misrepresented or utilized for unauthorized disclosures,” it added.
In a separate interview on Monday, Tulfo insisted that he is the rightful chair of the powerful committee despite strong objections from Pia Cayetano and their allies that the 3 June leadership change was unconstitutional for falling short of one vote of the constitutionally mandated 13-majority threshold to constitute a quorum and conduct business,
Gatchalian’s takeover effectively stripped Cayetano and senators allied with him of their respective positions, including committee chairmanships.
“The same goes to Senator (Rodante) Marcoleta. He is no longer a member of Blue Ribbon. So, what authority do they still have to conduct a [hearing]?” Tulfo asserted.
“It is clear that this is not a Blue Ribbon hearing; this is a press conference,” he added.
The purported hearing marks the continuation of the 4 June flood control probe under Cayetano’s watch, which was downplayed by Gatchalian’s faction as having no binding effect, as it was not entered into the Senate’s official records.
Gatchalian and allies deemed the 4 June hearing “bogus”, allegedly designed to undermine and discredit the leadership revamp and their investigation into the flood control anomalies.
Cayetano’s bloc, on the other hand, accused the Gatchalian wing of illegally justifying the coup despite falling short of one vote to derail the flood control probe and shield their allies and President Marcos Jr. from potential accountability.
Cayetano has repeatedly alleged that the Gatchalian-led faction is deliberately withholding crucial details of the flood control controversy under the watch of BRC’s former chair, Ping Lacson, to kill the investigation and bury the scandal.
Cayetano and allies took cognizance of the testimonies of the 18 so-called security aides and “bagmen” of former lawmaker Elizaldy Co, who alleged that they delivered massive kickbacks from flood control to Marcos and several of his allies in Congress, including Tulfo.
The other alleged recipients of the “maleta” include Senator Tito Sotto, former House speaker Martin Romualdez, Ilocos Rep. Sandro Marcos—the presidential son—among others.
They all brushed off the allegations as fabricated and sued the 18 bodyguards for libel.
The group is expected to appear anew in the supposed hearing by Cayetano’s camp, along with other fresh sets of resource persons who will allegedly corroborate the delivery scheme.
Critics and implicated lawmakers flagged what they deemed glaring inconsistencies in the affidavit of the bodyguards, such as photos of the supposed deliveries and the timeline of the events.
The credibility of the bodyguards was called into question after four of them were disowned by the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, while the majority of the remainder were allegedly dishonorably discharged.
Despite this, the group denied receiving P5 million each in bribes, as alleged by the NBI, to make the “fabricated” testimonies, which is a repeat of their February affidavit.