Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo ‘Ping’ M. Lacson is stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, after some colleagues aired their disappointment over the inquiry anomalous flood control projects.
He acknowledged the observations, but also cited ‘disruptions’ that gave the perception of unwieldy hearings, including his run-ins with his predecessor in the Blue Ribbon, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.
The two senators have been arguing over the handling of the Discaya couple, one of the biggest favored contractors for flood-control projects. At one point, Lacson asked Marcoleta, ‘why are you so protective of the Discayas?’
Meanwhile, Lacson – who noted that all Senate committee chairpersons including the Blue Ribbon are elected by fellow senators and thus serve at the pleasure of their peers – maintained on Sunday that this will not stop his continuing fight against corruption.
‘Since all chairpersons of the Senate committees are elected by our peers, I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues, particularly the members of the majority. Rightly or wrongly, when quite a number of them have expressed disappointment over how I’m handling the flood control project anomalies, I thought it’s time for me to step aside in favor of another member who they think can handle the committee better,’ Lacson said.
‘No amount of criticisms from misinformed netizens and partisan sectors can distract or pressure me from doing my job right, but when my own peers start expressing their group or individual sentiments, maybe it is best to vacate. Nevertheless, I will continue to fight a corrupt and rotten system in the misuse and abuse of public funds as I have consistently done in the course of my long years in public service,’ he added.
In a radio interview earlier Sunday, Lacson said he is preparing his resignation letter and may formally manifest it in plenary when the Senate resumes its session.
Lacson scored the fake news and false narratives that some sectors insisted on circulating – including one that says he is targeting some fellow senators while allegedly protecting members of the House of Representatives perceived to be the ‘masterminds’ of the flood control mess – including former Speaker Martin Romualdez and ex-Rep. Elizaldy Co.
‘If you ask me, I would say I handled the hearings well. But there are those trying to disrupt the hearings. In one instance, the hearing had barely started when someone tried to make a distraction,’ he said, apparently referring to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who questioned Lacson’s impartiality as soon as a hearing began. Marcoleta was replaced as Blue Ribbon chief by Lacson after the Sept. 8 shakeup that saw Vicente Sotto III elected Senate President, ousting Sen. Chiz Escudero.
Such disruptions, Lacson said in Filipino, are partly ‘why there is a perception that the hearings were not handled well.’