Ombudsman receives Blue Ribbon flood report

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has officially received the partial report of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scheme after Sen. Panfilo Lacson presented the findings through a privilege speech.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano confirmed the receipt of the transmittal of the partial committee report from Lacson’s office.

“The relevant information will be cascaded to the teams in charge of the different flood control cases for their perusal and use, if necessary,” Clavano told reporters.

With Lacson delivering the report at the Senate plenary, he effectively bypassed legislative deadlock and placed the committee’s findings on official record, paving the way for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman to use the initial findings against individuals linked to the flood control controversy.

He reiterated the recommendation to file charges against Senators Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva as well as former House speaker Martin Romualdez, former congressman Zaldy Co and more than a dozen other government officials.

Lacson likewise said the committee will further examine the controversial issues of “allocables” and “leadership funds.”

He noted that the panel will also analyze letters from lawmakers to establish a paper trail linking them to the anomalous infrastructure projects.

The committee report, however, still lacked enough signatures to be formally presented to the plenary for amendments.

Lacson earlier said he needed two more signatures from senators before the partial committee report can be debated and acted upon in the plenary.