The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on alleged flood control anomalies under Sen. Pia Cayetano proceeded on Thursday, June 4, with 18 self-identified former Marines appearing as resource persons, despite an ongoing leadership dispute in the chamber and questions over the session’s legitimacy.
The ex-military personnel were allowed inside the Senate complex after initial delays, according to former lawmaker Mike Defensor, who said they were initially treated as visitors and had difficulty entering under arrangements linked to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, as reported by RH Raymund Dadpaas.
The group was later admitted and took part in the hearing as resource persons on flood control issues.
The hearing proceeded under the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, even as questions persisted over the session’s legitimacy and documentation.
The ex-Marines arrived at the Senate earlier in the day to testify in the ongoing probe into flood mitigation projects.
However, their entry became part of a broader procedural dispute after Acting Senate President and newly elected Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian reportedly announced that no hearings were scheduled for the day and that Senate operations were under a work-from-home arrangement.
Despite this, the committee session went ahead, with allies of Sen. Pia Cayetano continuing the proceedings alongside Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Loren Legarda, Sen. Robin Padilla, and Sen. Rodante Marcoleta inside the session hall.
Absent from the gathering were several senators aligned with the opposing bloc, including Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Bong Go, and other 12 members of the senate from the then Minority Bloc.
The Senate Secretariat was also reportedly absent during the session, and the Blue Ribbon Committee proceedings were not formally documented by official staff. Instead, recordings were handled by personnel from individual senators, further raising questions about the session’s official standing and procedural regularity.
Despite the dispute, organizers of the hearing said they would continue the flood control investigation with the participation of the ex-Marines and other resource persons.
