Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson announced that seven senators have signed the partial committee report of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee regarding alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Latest signatory
According to Lacson, who also chairs the committee, the latest to sign was Senator Raffy Tulfo. The signatories include Senators Erwin Tulfo (vice chair of the committee), Risa Hontiveros, Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Raffy Tulfo, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and Lacson himself.
Need for more signatures
However, Lacson noted that the report still lacks the required nine signatures to be transmitted to the plenary for discussion and action, in accordance with Senate rules.
In his privilege speech, Lacson emphasized that the report has been pending for almost three months and stressed that its contents are not new and have already been validated. He said each member was given ample time to review the over 400-page report and propose changes if necessary.
Lacson said he respects the decision of some senators not to sign, although he disagrees with it.
Minority bloc perspective
Meanwhile, Senator Rodante Marcoleta, who belongs to the minority bloc, explained that he did not sign the report due to issues with the process and the documents he received. But Lacson insisted that the original copy of the report bears his signature and that the digital copy was the official version sent to members.
