Senate to invite Romualdez, Co to next blue ribbon hearing
Former Speaker Martin Romualdez and resigned Rep. Elizaldy Co will be invited to the next hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee’s investigation into the corruption behind anomalous flood control projects.
According to Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, the blue ribbon committee, which he chairs, will send invitations to Romualdez and Co while awaiting developments in the case and before scheduling the next hearing.
He stressed that this should debunk the perception of some groups that the committee was targeting, favoring or even “protecting” some personalities. “We are not covering up for anyone here,” the senator said.
In the case of Romualdez, the invitation will be coursed through Speaker Faustino Dy III, “in observation of the time-honored interparliamentary courtesy between the two houses of Congress.”
In Co’s case, Lacson said the letter would be sent to his residential address.
“Now we know he is abroad and will not show up. If that is the case, we will issue a subpoena, and then a show-cause order,” Lacson said in an interview on NET25. “If the show-cause order is not satisfactory, we will cite him in contempt of the committee and issue a warrant for his arrest.”
In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Marcos condemned government officials and contractors who allegedly earned kickbacks from infrastructure projects at the expense of people suffering from heavy flooding. This led to congressional investigations and the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to probe alleged corruption in flood control projects.
Co, who resigned as representative of Ako Bicol party list on Monday, is abroad supposedly for a medical leave. The former lawmaker, who chaired the powerful House appropriations committee in the 19th Congress, has been accused of getting billions of pesos in kickbacks by contractors and public works officials testifying in congressional inquiries into these projects.
Co, in previous statements, had denied the allegations and lamented “the evident denial of my right to due process.”
Romualdez has not been linked to any of the top companies that cornered big-ticket projects of the government. He denied allegations made in congressional inquiries that he received kickbacks, calling them “false” and “pure fiction.”
Evidence
Lacson made it clear that the blue ribbon committee will continue its hearings for as long as there are major developments that it needs to look into. He reiterated that he would maintain a “blindfold mentality,” stressing he would be impartial and go where the evidence would lead him.
“If we stop the probe now, we may reinforce the perception rightly or wrongly that we are covering up for someone. No. I said it clearly, we will go where the evidence leads us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said Co should return to the country to face the possible charges against him.
“Nothing can stop him from making his decisions, but if ever a case is filed against him, he will not be able to avoid it, he cannot run away from it,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday.
“So it would be better that if he becomes an accused, he should simply fight for his rights and defend his innocence based on the evidence he holds,” she said.
The ICI on Monday asked the Office of the Ombudsman to recommend filing of graft complaints against Co and 17 others, including officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways and his construction firm, Sunwest Inc., over a substandard flood control project in Oriental Mindoro worth P289.5 million.
