MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he opted to present, through a privilege speech, the results of the Senate investigation into the flood control fund mess to pave the way for the resumption of public hearings on the scandal.
The Senate president pro tempore said he is set to deliver the chairman’s progress report on the alleged flood control anomaly in a privilege speech when the Senate resumes session on May 4.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said the partial committee report has yet to secure the required nine signatures for filing and sponsorship in plenary.
Only six of the panel’s 17 regular members have signed the report: Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, and Erwin Tulfo, along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Lacson, both serving as ex-officio members.
“I will present it via a privilege speech entitled ‘The Chairman’s FCP Progress Report.’ Other committee members do not seem keen on signing the partial report. If I present it through a privilege speech, I would not need to consult them,” Lacson said.
He added that once delivered in plenary, the chairman’s progress report — which includes the contents of the partial report — may be shared with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman.
“I’ll be able to share the report and recommendations with the Ombudsman since it would become a public record after I present it as a privilege speech,” he said in a statement Monday.
“It would be a waste if the evidence in the progress report could not be used because it did not get enough signatures,” Lacson added.
Meanwhile, Lacson corrected Rodante Marcoleta over his calls to invite former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to the panel’s hearings on the flood control controversy.
He said the committee had already invited Romualdez twice, following the time-honored tradition of inter-parliamentary courtesy between the Senate and the House of Representatives — but Romualdez did not attend.
“Ever since the Philippine Congress adopted a bicameral system, there has been inter-parliamentary courtesy between the two chambers,” Lacson said.
He explained that invitations to House members are coursed through the Office of the Speaker in line with this tradition.
“That’s why inter-parliamentary courtesy is considered a time-honored practice,” he added.
Lacson was responding to Marcoleta’s earlier radio interview urging the panel to invite Romualdez, claiming the latter is “ready to talk” about the flood control controversy.
