Lacson appeals to senators to sign partial report on flood control

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday appealed to his colleagues to sign the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s partial report on the flood control controversy, which currently has only four signatures.

Aside from Lacson, only Senators Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, and Kiko Pangilinan have signed the partial report. Lacson said he needs nine signatures.

“‘Yun ang hinihiling ko sa aking mga kasamahan. Alam mo, pipirma lang naman,” he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(That is what I am asking from my colleagues. You know, they just need to sign.)

“Gusto nila, interpellate, will amend, at maski hindi na lagyan ng comment, pwede naman sila tumayo pagkatapos ko sponsoran sa floor. Eh 'di mag interpellate sila, mag-amend sila kung ano gusto nila baguhin,” he added.

(They can interpellate, amend, and even without adding a comment, they can stand after I sponsor it on the floor. Then they can interpellate and amend whatever they want to change.)

He said that without enough signatures, he could not report it on the floor and it could not be deliberated on.

Archive?

The senator previously said that the partial report may be placed in the archives if not enough signatures are gathered by the time Congress adjourns sine die in June. 

According to Lacson, most of the recommendations in the partial report on the individuals who should be charged or further investigated have already lapsed.

“Na-overtaken na kami. Actually, mga recommendation ko doon nangyayari na eh,” he said. 

(Actually, my recommendations are already happening.)

He said the partial report recommended the investigation of Senators Joel Villanueva and Francis “Chiz” Escudero as well as former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman said it is already preparing to file a plunder case against Romualdez and Escudero. 

Meanwhile, Lacson said the partial report also recommended the abolishment of a sytem of allocables and the leadership fund from the national budget, strengthening transparency in the budget process, and giving the Ombudsman a law enforcement arm.

Lacson previously said that the existence of allocables in the budget,  motivated by kickbacks for its proponents, should be viewed as equivalent to attempted or planned robbery.

Lacson also denied that he is covering up for anyone.

“Para sabihing may pinagtatakpan ako, eh napaka unfair naman ‘yun. Ginawa ko ‘yung aking trabaho. Nagagalit nga, nagtatampo ‘yung aking ibang kasamahan sa akin dahil nairekomenda namin na mag-undergo sila ng preliminary investigation,” he said. 

(To say that I am covering something up is very unfair. I did my job. Some of my colleagues are even angry and upset with me because we recommended that they undergo preliminary investigation.)

Minority report

Meanwhile, Lacson also said that releasing a "minority report" is not allowed.

“Illegal ‘yun eh. Hindi ‘yun authorized under our rules. There’s no such thing as a minority committee report, kaya illegal,” he said.

(That is illegal. It is not authorized under our rules. There’s no such thing as a minority committee report, so it is illegal.)

“Kaya sinabi ko noon, sa basurahan ang tuloy niyan kasi kabastusan ‘yun eh. Binigyan nila ng kopya si Senate President, ni hindi binigyan ng kopya ‘yung Blue Ribbon Committee eh,” he added.

(That is why I said before it would end up in the trash because it is disrespectful. They gave a copy to the Senate President, but they did not even give a copy to the Blue Ribbon Committee.)

To recall, members of the Senate minority issued a report regarding the anomalies in flood control projects, detailing findings and observations based on the previous hearings conducted by the Blue Ribbon Committee.

Senators Imee Marcos and Rodante Marcoleta said the report—which was signed by six out of nine members of the minority bloc—was submitted to the office of Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on December 10, 2025. 

Lacson said that a minority report should be an attachment to the committee’s report. He reiterated that this was disrespectful.

“Kung iyon, dinaan nila sa Blue Ribbon mismo, sa akin as chairman, i-consider ko naman ‘yung mga findings nila doon eh, mga recommendations nila. Hindi lahat. Pero ‘yung mga mapaguusapan ng committee na pwedeng i-adopt, why not?” he said.

(But it is really disrespectful that what they did was just submit a committee report outright, and then when there was a partial committee report, they refused to sign.) —Joahna Lei Casilao/ VAL/RSJ, GMA News