Blue ribbon panel report being ‘corrected’–Lacson
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said the Senate blue ribbon committee was “correcting” the wording of the report on its investigation of anomalous flood control projects that implicated three of his colleagues and three former lawmakers.
In a chance interview, Lacson, who chairs the committee, said that instead of recommending the filing of plunder and other criminal charges against Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva, the committee will instead recommend a “preliminary investigation.”
Told of the changes in the Senate committee report, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, whose office is expected to receive and act on the document, said it was part of politics to have “negotiations” and “compromises” made.
Lacson explained: “It’s like this. The connotation, for example, in the draft that was initially routed, there was a word there: ‘charged.’ When you say ‘charged’ to a layman, it sounds like the person is already in court.”
“So we specified that instead of using the word ‘charged’ or ‘to be charged,’ it should say ‘to undergo preliminary investigation,’ ‘to undergo fact-finding investigation,’ or ‘to undergo case buildup.’ Things like that,” the senator added.
“We cannot recommend to the court that someone be charged because only the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman are authorized to file the information for any person to be charged before the court,” Lacson said.
“So we just corrected that, because to be charged is a generic term. But in the minds of laymen—ordinary people like us—it immediately comes across as you’ve already been charged in court,” he said.
‘No substantial revision’
Despite the change, Lacson maintained that the committee’s recommendation did not get weaker at all.
“There was nothing substantial changed. We never deviated from the original intent of our committee report [for the subjects] to undergo a preliminary investigation,” he said. “It’s still the same; only the language.”
Lacson denied that the change was caused by the supposed discontentment among members of the minority bloc or the recent attempt to unseat Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
Lacson said the report had not even reached the minority bloc yet and that the change was made upon the recommendation of the majority bloc.
“That was just from the majority. My colleagues in the majority suggested that maybe the language could be softened without sacrificing the intent or changing the substance, because, as I said, I have a baseline. Bottom line, I really would not report out something I don’t believe in,” he said.
Lacson said he was hopeful and confident that, with the changes made, the measure would secure 11 signatures from his colleagues for it to advance to the plenary.
He said the report may be routed for signatures on Wednesday should the changes be finalized by Tuesday.
Leaked version
A copy of the draft and partial report, which was earlier leaked to the media, showed that aside from plunder, the committee sought the filing of charges for malversation of public funds and direct bribery against the following:
Estrada, Villanueva and Escudero; former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, and former Caloocan Rep. Mary Mitzi “Mitch” Cajayon-Uy
Lacson earlier said he would stand by the recommendation to file criminal charges against the six officials, and that he would no longer sponsor the report should his peers ask that the recommendation be dropped.
‘That’s politics’
Asked during a press conference in Baguio City what he thought about the changes being made in the recommendation, Ombudsman Remulla replied: “That’s politics.’’
“What is acceptable to everyone, or to the majority, is what matters most,” he said.
“Because it’s getting personal. Of course, his (Lacson’s) friends inside will sign, just as long as their names aren’t [included]. There’s negotiation involved, there’s a compromise,” Remulla added.
What matters most for the Office of the Ombudsman is that the blue ribbon committee’s records and the testimonies made during the hearings remain intact, he said. —WITH A REPORT FROM FAITH ARGOSINO
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