Sherwin Gatchalian: Senate only recognizes Erwin Tulfo's Blue Ribbon Committee

Acting Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday said the Senate will not recognize any hearing or investigation conducted outside of the duly constituted Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senator Erwin Tulfo.

In a statement, Gachalian said any parallel proceedings will carry “no legal weight or institutional authority.”

“The Senate recognizes only one Blue Ribbon Committee, the one headed by Senator Erwin Tulfo,” he said.

“Any hearing or investigation conducted outside of this committee has no legal standing, carries no institutional authority, and will not be recognized by the Senate,” Gatchalian added.

The acting Senate President said the work of exposing corruption and holding wrongdoers accountable is serious business and deserves a proper, legitimate, and duly constituted forum.

“Ang Senado ay nakatuon sa tunay na pag-imbestiga at pag-uusig ng korapsyon sa tamang paraan at sa tamang forum. Iyon ang aming pangako sa sambayanang Pilipino,” Gatchalian said, as he urged all witnesses and resource persons to come forward and testify before the official Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

(The Senate is focused on investigating the corruption in the right way and in the right forum. That is our vow to the Filipino people.)

Gatchalian’s statement came hours after Tulfo issued a statement advising that there is no official hearing of the Senate blue ribbon panel scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

This was after former Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor allegedly said there was a hearing on the said date.

It may be recalled that on June 4, Senator Pia Cayetano presided over a hearing of her Senate blue ribbon panel into the flood control mess. — JMA, GMA News