Lacson: Minority report on flood control scam belongs in ‘trash’
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson dismissed the minority report on the flood control mess, describing it as an affront to the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) that ultimately belonged in the trash.
Several minority senators published a separate report on the flood control corruption mess.
The 576-page report also took a swipe at the BRC, saying it failed to follow critical leads, including the alleged involvement of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
One of the signatories was Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who chaired the BRC before being replaced by Lacson.
Most of the other senators who signed the report were pro-Duterte allies, including Sen. Imee Marcos and Sen. Robin Padilla.
In a statement on Wednesday, Lacson dismissed the report altogether.
"How will I respect a document that symbolizes disrespect towards the Blue Ribbon Committee and the entire Senate?" Lacson said in a media interview, as quoted in his press release.
"So there is no other place for that 'minority report' but the trash bin,” the veteran senator said.
Lacson said that he did not read the document.
Any suggestions from the minority could still be raised as actual amendments to the committee report, he said.
The minority’s decision to come up with their own report was a sign of disrespect, Lacson said.
"They are members of the committee but now they are nitpicking our hearings. Being members, why don't they just attend and show the evidence they claim to have?" Lacson said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Tito Sotto also dismissed the minority report, saying that an official minority report comes after the committee report.
He said the report must be submitted to the BRC and then tackled in a plenary session; it cannot simply be submitted to the Office of the Senate President.
The minority senators’ report holds no official weight until then, Sotto said, calling it a mere “media report.”
“It’s for the media. What else is it for?” Sotto said.
The Senate BRC’s probe into the flood control mess uncovered a massive corruption scheme at the Department of Public Works and Highways, where alleged kickback schemes between officials and lawmakers resulted in billions of pesos being stolen from the country’s coffers.
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