Sen. Richard Gordon’s chairmanship of Senate panels hit

MANILA, Philippines — Senators are disappointed with the way Sen. Richard Gordon has been handling legislative investigations and hearings, particularly in the Blue Ribbon committee, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson, however, gave assurance there are no moves to remove Gordon from his committee chairmanships.

Lacson maintained he will not sign the draft committee report on the Dengvaxia controversy written by Gordon as chairman of the Blue Ribbon panel.

Senators privately joked and complained about Gordon’s conduct of the Dengvaxia probe, as well as other Senate hearings for several months.

But last week, Lacson openly defended himself from Gordon’s comments about his stance on the draft report.

“It’s up to the majority bloc. We can have a caucus but no one so far has suggested that,” Lacson told dzBB when asked whether there is a need to replace Gordon as Blue Ribbon committee chairman.

“If it comes to that, we will evaluate and we will come into… sort of a consensus if we need to replace the Blue Ribbon committee chairman,” he said.

Lacson said it was possible the deluge of criticisms and complaints against Gordon over his actuations could be “a learning experience for all of us.”

“Who knows, maybe in the next hearings, Sen. Dick (Gordon) will allow us to ask questions,” Lacson remarked.

The spat started last week when Lacson vouched for former president Benigno Aquino III’s integrity and expressed doubts that he should be prosecuted for graft and corruption over his P3.5-billion anti-dengue vaccination program as recommended by Gordon in his draft report.

Gordon responded by saying Lacson owes a debt of gratitude to Aquino for allowing him to surface from hiding, and appointing him as rehabilitation chief for areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Lacson countered that it was evident to other senators and to the public watching the Dengvaxia hearings that Gordon was not only monopolizing the proceedings but has tailored it to fit his conclusions.

He noted that while 11 senators have signed the draft report, which means it will be sent to the plenary for deliberations, most of them have affixed their signatures with serious reservations.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has submitted a dissenting report to the Blue Ribbon committee.

Lacson said he expects Gordon’s report to be amended in plenary by other senators.