Lacson says Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva not cleared yet of budget insertion row

Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said that Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva have not been cleared on budget insertion issues amid the probe into anomalous flood control projects.

In a reply to a post on X (formerly Twitter) Thursday evening, Lacson clarified that allowing the two senators to face their accusers does not mean they are already cleared.

"By any measure, Senators Villanueva and Estrada have not been cleared, at least on the issue of budget insertions involving infrastructure projects in Bulacan worth P600M and P355M respectively, as alleged by Engr Brice Hernandez," Lacson said.

GMA News Online has sought comment from Estrada and Villanueva but they have yet to provide a statement as of posting time.

Lacson during the Senate hearing on Thursday said that P600 million supposedly for flood control projects in Bulacan was found in the Unprogrammed Fund under the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which Hernandez earlier linked to Villanueva. 

Villanueva had denied the allegation.

During the hearing, Villanueva showed how to fabricate narratives by quickly altering the metadata of photos taken on mobile phones.

Lacson also noted that the P600 million was culled from documents provided by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian contained in the slides.

According to Hernandez, Villanueva's alleged flood control projects came from unprogrammed funds in the 2023 GAA.

"There are seven to eight items worth P75 million each, exactly P600 million," Lacson said as he told Hernandez he had a ‘selective memory’ as he could not answer the senator’s other questions.

"I'm telling you, hindi pwedeng selective dito. Pag nangako kang magsasabi ng totoo sabihin mo di lang kung convenient (I'm telling you, you cannot be selective here. If you promise to tell the truth, it must be the whole truth, not what's convenient for you)," he told Hernandez.

Meanwhile, Lacson said his office found in the regular budget of the 2025 GAA the P355 million in infrastructure projects in Bulacan that Hernandez linked to Estrada. 

Estrada also denied the allegations.

Both Villanueva and Estrada earlier expressed their willingness to sign waivers to have their bank accounts opened to scrutiny amid the investigation

In a separate post on X, Lacson said he allowed the two senators to take part in the Blue Ribbon committee hearing citing a person's basic right to face his accuser.

"It is a person’s basic right to confront his accuser. In case you didn’t notice, I did not clear the two senators on the issue of budget insertions [because] the budget books validate Brice Hernandez’s allegations based on my own staff’s research, at least in the case of Sen Estrada," Lacson said.

"Every person, ordinary or senator, has equal rights. I actually consulted my legal staff before making that decision to allow them. On the other hand, the two senators have not been cleared of the budget insertions under the 2023 and 2025 GAA’s. I made that very clear today," he added.—Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News