Lacson report on flood mess seeks further probe of peers
As promised, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday revealed the Senate blue ribbon committee’s partial findings of its inquiry into the controversial flood control mess and recommended that several lawmakers undergo preliminary investigation for possible criminal prosecution.
While Lacson, the panel chair, did not name these lawmakers in his privilege speech, a “menu” of possible criminal charges that he presented on the Senate floor showed several lists of individuals, including incumbent Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., former Speaker Martin Romualdez, and former House appropriations committee chair Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co.
The names of the six former and incumbent lawmakers were listed for either preliminary or fact-finding investigation, or case build-up for possible violations of direct bribery, antigraft and corrupt practices, and even plunder.
Other charges for preliminary investigation are malversation, and violation of the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees.
Lacson also made similar recommendations for falsification of documents and identities, perjury and bid rigging for other public works officials and contractors.
“Depending on the evidence, the prosecutors will determine the appropriate charges based on their own assessment of the evidence already submitted and those that will still be submitted by the committee, as well as other evidence they may gather during the case build-up process at the Department of Justice, or during fact-finding and preliminary investigation if the case is with the Ombudsman,” Lacson said in Filipino.
In his speech, Lacson acknowledged “that the passage of time since the preparation of the report has overtaken certain aspects of these recommendations.”
But the senator stressed, “This does not weaken the report.”
“By the time the report is released, the committee’s recommendations and findings are already being carried out,” he said in Filipino.
Lacson also called the corruption scandal that rocked the Marcos administration the “reincarnation” of the 2013 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam “but in a bolder scheme.”
According to Lacson, the draft report remains pending for sponsorship since only seven members have signed it, still short of the nine signatures needed to bring it to the plenary.
Those who signed the report were Lacson, Senators Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, brothers Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
Lacson said irregularities in the implementation of the government’s flood control and infrastructure projects, which he described as the largest corruption scandal in Philippine history, seemed like deja vu.
“We have seen this before: the history of corruption in the Philippines reflects a cyclical process; it does not disappear when exposed, it adapts and mutates to survive. The flood control crisis is the reincarnation of the 2013 Priority PDAF scam, but in a bolder scheme,” he said.
“It serves as a scathing indictment of the failure of our institutions to deter corrupt machinations. The enterprise remains unchanged in essence, similarly orchestrated by a cabal of officials led by legislators and their coconspirators within the government and in the private sector, only with a diversified format and modus of thievery, timing, and language,” he added.
“Like floodwaters, these activities seep into institutions and areas of least resistance, flowing into and exploiting new channels where illicit rewards abound and oversight is weakest,” Lacson said.
‘Systematic, parasitic’
In his privilege speech, the senator presented key evidence and policy recommendations drawn from at least seven hearings that started in August last year to finally curb the “systematic and parasitic” greed behind anomalous flood control projects.
Lacson cited the following findings:
- The flood control scandal stemmed not from a shortage of funds. “Instead, the scale of funding, coupled with weak internal controls and criminally complicit oversight, made the sector an attractive target for systematic plunder of the public treasury, effectively leaving our citizens exposed to a deluge of misery,” he said.
- The anatomy of the flood control anomaly is inherently parasitic, characterized by a network of actors spanning the highest levels of authority. Such anatomy exploited an institutionalized workflow deeply entrenched within the bureaucracy, employing mechanisms so brazen and gross that they either compromise, recruit, and/or bypass oversight.
- The flood control mess represents the evolution of the pork barrel system. “In this scheme, corruption takes different forms and names: from congressional ‘slabs of pork’ now euphemistically rebranded as ‘allocables’ (projects distributed to different districts based on their need, population and size of the area), ‘leadership funds,’ and ‘insertions’—extending their reach even into the Unprogrammed Appropriations under the GAA (General Appropriations Act),” he said.
- The corruption uncovered in the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office shows the blueprint for how flood control funds are diverted, revealing the interconnected systems that facilitate the corruption.
- The dire consequences of this institutionalized plunder “are not merely financial; they are felt in the structural erosion of our democratic institutions, the profound disenfranchisement of the Filipino people, and the tearing of the moral fiber of the country,” Lacson said.
Road to accountability
But he stressed that he was not aiming to indict or hand down a final judgment, but to establish a standard to assist authorities who would evaluate the findings, determine probable cause, and take the necessary legal actions.
“The road to full accountability is long. But we must start to agree somewhere. This Chairman’s Report is a decisive step forward. We owe it to the witnesses who spoke up, to the experts who provided evidence, and most importantly, to the millions of Filipinos who find themselves neck-deep in floodwaters every time a storm hits. We cannot let their efforts—and ours—go to waste,” Lacson said.
“Mr. President, this report is a referral-and-reform package. It’s just simple: Investigate and find out what happened, and recover what can be recovered. Also fix the laws so Filipinos won’t pay twice—with taxes and with their lives because of the floods,” he added.
“If the allegations are wrong, the process clears them. If they are true, the process convicts—with due process and accountability, those who deserve to be jailed should be jailed,” he said.
Won’t yield floor
Lacson said that he disagreed with those who had not signed the report but he respected their decision “even as I understand whatever reasons they have for not signing.”
“Bottomline: it is their right as senators of the Republic,” he added.
“We only need two signatures. Two or three more and we can file the report [in] the Senate Bills and Index Division. Until then, I am not yet yielding the floor,” he said, as he ended his privilege speech.
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta tried to interpellate Lacson as he called on the latter for apparently putting a “precondition” before answering queries on the report during the plenary. Estrada also tried to raise questions but Lacson did not yield.—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
