Members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee are scheduled to convene on Wednesday, February 4, to deliberate on the draft partial committee report regarding the flood control scandal.
Senate President Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon Panel Chairman Panfilo “Ping” Lacson stated that the discussion follows the preferences of several committee members to thoroughly review the document’s findings before providing their signatures.
“Maybe due to the complexity and sensitivity involving the issues and personalities mentioned in the draft committee report, many members prefer to discuss and understand the contents of report before they affix their signatures. Others may want to include their inputs,” Lacson said.
Lacson emphasized that the committee is a collective body consisting of 17 regular and three ex-officio members. To move the findings to the plenary for deliberation, the report requires the signatures of at least 11 members to be considered an official committee report.
“That being said, I am aware that the chairman is not the committee. In fact, it is composed of 17 regular and three ex-officio members. As such, the report needs at least 11 signatures to make it an official committee report to be deliberated in plenary,” he added.
Lacson noted that he remains open to suggestions and recommendations from his colleagues, provided they align with the facts.
The Blue Ribbon panel chairman specifically cited that the recommendations must respect ongoing preliminary investigations by the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman, which the draft report restates.
The process is governed by Section 1, Article 5 of the Blue Ribbon Committee rules, which mandates that all reports be discussed, decided, and approved by the members before submission to the Senate.
Under Section 22, members who do not sign the majority report within 72 hours of approval may submit concurring or dissenting reports.
Without the necessary number of signatories to meet the majority requirement, Lacson warned that the document remains a draft with no legal standing in the chamber.
He maintained that strictly following these procedures ensures that “there can be no valid partial committee report to talk about” until the rules are fully satisfied.
