Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson presented the Blue Ribbon Committee’s progress report on the flood control controversy, highlighting a “menu” of possible criminal charges against several lawmakers and officials.
The draft report lists former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., ex-House Speaker Martin Romualdez, former party-list representatives and House appropriations chair Zaldy Co, and incumbent senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Joel Villanueva, and Jinggoy Estrada for preliminary or fact-finding investigation.
They face potential cases for direct bribery, graft and corruption, and plunder.
Lacson said evidence shows a “systemic, coordinated multi-actor process” involving proponents, intermediaries, DPWH facilitators, contractors, and other players across government and finance.
Calling the scandal “systemic and parasitic greed,” Lacson stressed the need for accountability and reforms to prevent further misuse of public funds.
Committee Findings
- The scandal did not stem from a lack of funds. Instead, large allocations, weak controls, and complicit oversight made the sector a target for plunder.
- The scheme was parasitic, involving a network of actors across authority levels, exploiting entrenched workflows and bypassing oversight.
- The mess represents an evolution of the pork barrel system, with corruption disguised as “allocables,” “leadership funds,” and “insertions,” even reaching unprogrammed appropriations.
- Corruption in the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office revealed how flood control funds were diverted through interconnected systems.
- Consequences include financial losses, erosion of democratic institutions, disenfranchisement of citizens, and damage to the country’s moral fabric.
Lacson also proposed removing “allocables” and “leadership funds” from DPWH’s budget, calling them “pork barrel incarnate.”
He also recommended:
- Amending the Ombudsman Act of 1989 (RA 6770)
- Defining beneficial ownership and conflict of interest rules for legislators
- Stricter penalties against government employees gambling in casinos
- Digitalization of SALN/Personal Data Sheets and stronger whistleblower protection laws
- Recalling COA auditors to the central office to ensure independent reporting
