THE Supreme Court has upheld the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s discretion to keep its unfinished flood control report confidential, ruling that the right to information does not cover preliminary legislative deliberations.
In a resolution issued Wednesday, the Court en banc dismissed the petition filed by lawyers Eldrige Marvin B. Aceron, Sikini C. Labastilla and Purificacion Bartolome-Bernabe seeking to compel the committee to make public the complete draft.
The petition stemmed from the leak of a draft partial committee report in February 2026, which was reportedly obtained by several media organizations.
The leaked document allegedly recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges, including plunder, against several senators and other public officials in connection with alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
The tribunal said the petitioners had no legal basis to use mandamus to force the report’s release.Mandamus may compel a public official or government body to perform a ministerial duty clearly required by law, the Court explained. It cannot be used to dictate the exercise of discretion.
The Court stressed that a draft is only a preliminary document. It becomes part of the official Senate record only after it is finalized, approved by the committee and submitted to the Senate plenary in accordance with the chamber’s internal rules.
The Court emphasized that the right to information, while constitutionally protected, is not absolute and is subject to recognized limitations.
Among these limitations is the deliberative process privilege, which protects internal discussions while government officials are still weighing options and formulating decisions.
This privilege, it said, allows officials to exchange views freely without the danger that tentative positions contained in preliminary documents will be mistaken for final government action.
The Court also invoked the separation of powers, stressing that courts generally cannot interfere with matters committed by Congress or with the legislature’s internal procedures, provided these remain within constitutional bounds.
