MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday slammed critics of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee conducting the investigation on the alleged "ghost" flood control projects and advised them to "shut up."
Lacson, chairman of the committee, said the panel paved the way for the implementation of landmark transparency reforms in the national budget process.
He warned "skeptics, detractors, and hijackers who exploit the vulnerabilities and anger of our people to deepen the fault lines of our nation during these trying times."
"To say that the Blue Ribbon Committee is useless is not only insensitive to its members but an insult to our fellow Filipinos who have consistently followed our hearings and participated in the trillion-peso march," Lacson said.
"Your noise will not silence the truth; neither does it provide any help in our investigation," the Senate president pro tempore said.
"Your noise cannot convict - and won’t even indict the malefactors in this flood control mess. Only evidence does," Lacson said.
"With all that being said - as the chairman of this committee - I say to you: Shut the f… up!"
