The Senate has suspended its Blue Ribbon Committee hearings on alleged anomalies in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood control projects, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson confirmed on Saturday, October 4.
In a message to reporters, Lacson said the hearing was originally scheduled for October 8 upon the request of Senator JV Ejercito, who sought to summon former DPWH Mimaropa regional director Gerald Pacanan. Pacanan was among the officials issued a show-cause order for alleged involvement in substandard projects and a lavish lifestyle.
However, Lacson said the committee decided to cancel the hearing due to the unavailability of key documents and conflicts with other Senate activities.
“To maximize the discussions, I checked with the DOJ (Department of Justice) if the supposed ‘tell-all’ affidavits of the Discayas were already available. I also checked with the Office of the Executive Judge of Manila RTC if they have concluded the investigation on the possible violations of the notarized document involving TSgt (Orly) Guteza and Atty. (Petchie) Espera,” Lacson explained.
The senator added that both documents would not be ready within a week.
“Having been informed that both would not be ready within one week, not to mention that the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing will be in conflict with the budget and Committee on Appointments hearings, I informed [Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III] of the cancellation until further notice,” Lacson said.
The Senate Pro Tempore said the suspension will remain in effect until further notice, pending the completion of the required documents and the resolution of schedule conflicts.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s decision came shortly after the House of Representatives also suspended its own inquiry into the same flood control anomalies. House infrastructure committee co-chairperson Terry Ridon earlier said their suspension was meant to “give way to the full and impartial proceedings” of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), a fact-finding body created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in September to investigate alleged irregularities in infrastructure projects.
The Senate’s previous hearings had already produced several bombshell testimonies. Former DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara admitted to delivering alleged kickbacks to former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, and claimed that similar benefits reached several other lawmakers, including former senator Bong Revilla, incumbent senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, and former Caloocan representative Mary Mitzi “Mitch” Lim Cajayon-Uy.
In a separate session, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo also identified Senator Chiz Escudero, and former senators Bong Revilla and Nancy Binay as supposed recipients of kickbacks from government flood control projects.
