Jonathan Frederic De Santos

A heated exchange ensued within minutes after the Blue Ribbon panel opened its fifth hearing into the flood control mess on Sept.23, 2025. Senate/screengrab

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17596486976961759648695607.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A heated exchange ensued within minutes after the Blue Ribbon panel opened its fifth hearing into the flood control mess on Sept.23, 2025. Senate/screengrab"/>A heated exchange ensued within minutes after the Blue Ribbon panel opened its fifth hearing into the flood control mess on Sept.23, 2025. Senate/screengrab</div>MANILA (3rd UPDATE) – Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Sunday said he would resign as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, noting the “disappointment” of his colleagues on how he handled the investigation on anomalous flood control projects.In a statement, Lacson said he would “step aside in favor of another member who they think can handle the committee better.”“Since all chairpersons of the Senate committees are elected by our peers, I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues, particularly the members of the majority,” Lacson said. “Rightly or wrongly… quite a number of them have expressed disappointment over how I’m handling the flood control project anomalies,” he added. Aside from this, Lacson said while he was not affected by criticisms from “misinformed netizens and partisan sectors,” it is different when his colleagues at the Senate criticize his work.“When my own peers start expressing their group or individual sentiments, maybe it is best to vacate,” he said. “I will continue to fight a corrupt and rotten system in the misuse and abuse of public funds as I have consistently done in the course of my long years in public service,” he added.On Saturday, Lacson said the hearings on the Blue Ribbon Committee would be suspended “until further notice.”Sen. JV Ejercito, a member of the Senate majority, said earlier in the week that he and four other senators had considered leaving the bloc over how the flood control hearings have been conducted.Lacson, however, said he “handled the hearings well.” He believed though that there are individuals “trying to disrupt the hearings.”“In one instance, the hearing had barely started when someone tried to make a distraction. That is why there is a perception that the hearings were not handled well,” the lawmaker said in a statement. Aside from this, false information hounded the hearings, anchored on the narrative that he was protecting some lawmakers considered as “masterminds” of the flood control anomalies such as former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co. Romualdez and Co have since denied allegations of receiving suitcases of cash as well as insertions in the national budget. Meanwhile, Lacson said he was already preparing his resignation letter and this might be manifested in plenary once the Senate resumes its session. It can be remembered that last week, the senator alleged that “almost all” senators in the 19th Congress inserted around P100 billion in the 2025 national budget, drawing the ire of some senators.  Senate President Vicente Sotto III had defended &quot;amendments or insertions,” saying this forms &quot;part of the regular budget process&quot; as long as they were done during the deliberations.<div> </div><div>BIG YIELD</div><div> </div>Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon credited Lacson&#x27;s leadership in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee as crucial in the probe into the anomalous government infrastructure projects.&quot;His leadership of the panel has yielded the most consequential testimonies and evidence among all proceedings relating to the ongoing flood control corruption controversy,&quot; said Ridon in a statement.He said under Lacson&#x27;s watch, the committee made huge strides in exposing the conspiracy among contractors, government officials and even lawmakers.&quot;The series of admissions by Henry Alcantara and Roberto Bernardo before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee—building upon the initial confessions of Brice Alcantara and Jaypee Mendoza at the House Infrastructure Committee hearings—has laid bare the conspiracy of various actors: contractors, DPWH officials, legislators, and even executive officials, in the plunder of government resources for private gain,&quot; he said.&quot;Senator Lacson’s Blue Ribbon Committee hearings exposed not only members of Congress as principal participants in the capture of the national budget at every stage of the budget process—from the National Expenditure Program to the Bicameral Conference Committee—but also the involvement of executive officials, particularly in the capture of unprogrammed appropriations, which fall solely within the authority of the executive branch.&quot;With the exit of Lacson from the Senate&#x27;s most powerful committee, Ridon said the Independent Commission for Infrastructure should now conduct a &quot;broad, unrelenting and open sweep of all individuals named in both Senate and House hearings.&quot;He hopes this leads to the charging of people responsible for the anomalies.&quot;We wish Senator Lacson well, confident that he will continue to pursue his advocacies for good governance and accountability in whatever capacity he chooses in the future.&quot;

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is stepping down as chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee — the panel holding hearings on corruption in flood control projects — saying his chairmanship is at the pleasure of his colleagues.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is stepping down as chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee — the panel holding hearings on corruption in flood control projects — saying his chairmanship is at the pleasure of his colleagues.

Lacson stepping aside as Blue Ribbon Committee chair

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Lacson stepping aside as Blue Ribbon Committee chair

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 05, 2025 03:24 PM PHT

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Updated October 05, 2025 05:20 PM PHT

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Panfilo Lacson

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee

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Flood Control Projects

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