Lacson hopes more senators will sign flood scandal report

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson expressed confidence that the partial Senate committee report on the flood control mess would get five more signatures to send it to the plenary.

Four senators, so far, have signed the report: Lacson, Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan.

Three senators who withdrew their signatures after a draft report leaked to the press – JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian and Juan Miguel Zubiri – have yet to sign again.

Lacson, however, told One News’ “Storycon” that the committee had already revised the report’s wording to be “acceptable” for them.

“During our executive session, we invited the ombudsman, the Department of Justice and the Anti-Money Laundering Council to enlighten them about the complexities of the report,” he said on Thursday.

The Blue Ribbon committee chair understands that some senators are wary of signing the report due to its sensitive nature.

The report recommends that a preliminary investigation be opened against Senators Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva – all members of the minority bloc. The leaked draft suggested the filing of criminal and administrative charges against them.

Other senators, Lacson said, are still testing the waters before affixing their signatures. “Some are asking their fellow senators if they’ve signed already, having been skeptical not necessarily due to the content but are simply reading the room first – just as how the vote for Senate president works,” he stressed.

Lacson explained that the partial report can still be amended in the Senate plenary and that its “partial” status stems from the fact that hearings are not yet finished.

16 men face NBI

Sixteen of the 18 alleged former “Marines” who claimed they delivered cash to government officials on behalf of former lawmaker Zaldy Co appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday to answer questions over their allegations.

The group, accompanied by their lawyer Levito Baligod, arrived at the NBI office after being summoned by the bureau to shed light on their claims that they served as “bagmen” of Co.

Baligod said the group was ready to cooperate with the investigation and provide documents to support their statements.

“But I looked at the subpoena and it appears that what the NBI wants to know is the background of the 18, so we will provide all the information,” Baligod said in an ambush interview.

He said the group would submit their military serial numbers and identification cards to establish their identities and employment.

“They said that eight of them were not employees of Zaldy Co, so we will provide their identification cards signed by Zaldy Co to show that they were employees,” Baligod said.

The NBI earlier said that based on its initial verification, eight of the 18 individuals were not employed by Co while four were not Marines but drivers and bodyguards.

Baligod, however, maintained that 16 of the group were former Marines while two were former members of the Philippine Army.

The lawyer also defended the group’s joint affidavit, saying the document used collective statements only for portions involving common knowledge among the group. “In the first portion of the affidavit, the pronoun ‘we’ was used because they were all employees. But when it comes to the deliveries, the individuals involved were specified,” Baligod said.

He added that the lawyer who notarized the affidavit, Charlie Pascual, was connected to his law firm as “counsel.”

“That means if they have cases where they need support or assistance, I help them,” Baligod said, adding that he had begun scaling down his law practice.

Harassment?

Former congressman Mike Defensor, accompanied by his legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio, also appeared before the NBI after receiving a subpoena from the bureau.

Defensor earlier said he merely helped the alleged ex-Marines with transportation and had no involvement in preparing their affidavit.

Topacio questioned the NBI’s move to summon the group, describing the investigation as harassment. “We are here out of respect for the NBI as an institution, but in our view, what the current leadership is doing is harassment and intimidation of those who are reporting wrongdoing,” Topacio said. “We are here and we respect the NBI, but we are not waiving our rights.”

Individual affidavits

The Office of the Ombudsman has asked the 18 alleged former Marines to submit their individual separate affidavits in connection with allegations that they delivered billions of pesos to several government officials as kickbacks from flood control projects.

The 18 earlier submitted their joint affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman through Baligod.

Complaints have been filed against the alleged ex-Marines and others by several personalities, including National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, Fr. Flavie Villanueva and Bureau of Corrections chief Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., over the alleged money delivery scheme. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Daphne Galvez