Erwin Tulfo: Senate probe to soon shift to 'overpriced' farm-to-market road projects

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will soon shift its investigation to farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, but will still hold some hearings on the  flood control anomalies, its acting chairman Senator Erwin Tulfo said Sunday.

“I will be meeting with the Senate leadership next week to talk about the direction of the BRC (Blue Ribbon Committee). But definitely may hearing pa (there are still hearings) on flood control before we shift to FMR overprice anomaly,” Tulfo said in a Viber message to GMA News Online.

The lawmaker did not specify the timeline of the two issues, but in a “24 Oras” report but said the Blue Ribbon Committee’s inquiry on the anomalous flood control projects could resume by late October.

“Siguro po sa October 22, 23. Somewhere around there… And nakita ko pong medyo maluwag-luwag, around 23, 24, mga 26, 27, ganoon po,” the senator said.

(Maybe on October 22, 23. Somewhere around there… And I saw that the schedule is a bit free, around the 23rd, 24th, the 26th, 27th, something like that.)

He cited his fellow senators’ other priorities as one of the reasons influencing the schedules, “… Kasi po ngayon, busy po ‘yung mga ibang kasamahan po natin sa mga budget hearing po, kanya-kanya.”

(… Because right now, some of our colleagues are busy with their respective budget hearings.)

Then Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson earlier said the panel suspended initial plans to resume its probe, as some documents for the next hearing will not be ready in time, as well as conflict with the schedules of other Senate inquiries.

During the Senate’s deliberation of the Department of Agriculture’s 2026 budget, Gatchalian flagged what he alleged were overpriced FMRs from 2023 to 2024, amounting to P10.3 billion.  —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News