Jamaine Punzalan

Senator Panfilo Lacson during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects in Pasay City on January 19, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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SENATE PROBE- FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177070213495220260119-senate-probe-flood-control-lacson-JC9654.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Senator Panfilo Lacson during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects in Pasay City on January 19, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday there would be &quot;no substantive&quot; revision in his panel’s draft report on the flood control scandal, despite a change in its &quot;language.&quot; </p><p>A draft report recommended a slew of criminal and administrative charges, including plunder, against Senators Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, among others.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/3/sotto-denounces-leak-of-draft-of-blue-ribbon-committee-report-on-flood-control-scandal-2348">Sotto denounces leak of draft of Blue Ribbon Committee report on flood control scandal</a></div><p>Lacson said his colleagues from the majority suggested: “Baka naman pwedeng i-soften natin, soften na hindi ma-sacrifice yung intent.”  </p><p>“Hindi mababago yung substance kasi sabi ko nga may baseline ako e diba, bottom line ko, e hindi ko talaga ire-report out yung hindi ako naniniwala.” </p><p>Lacson later clarified that he &quot;was referring to the phrase &#x27;recommended to be charged&#x27; to be changed to &#x27;recommended for preliminary investigation&#x27;&quot; when he mentioned the suggestion to soften the report.</p><p>“Hindi naman namin pwedeng i-recommend sa court, na i-charge sa court, kasi only the DOJ and the Ombudsman are authorized to file the information for any person to be charged before the court, ‘di ba? So kinorrect lang namin yun,” the senator said. </p><p>“Kasi ang charge is parang generic yan pero ang connotation pagdating sa layman, ordinary people like us, parang ang dating kaagad, naka-charge ka sa court. So there&#x27;s nothing substantial…  We never deviated sa original intent ng aming committee report na mag-undergo ng PI (preliminary investigation),” Lacson added. </p><p>“Medyo na-generalize lang or na-specify. Instead na to be charged, nasabi ko nga pag sinabing charged, ito yung nag-tumama sa sensitivity ng ibang mga kasama namin na pag-charge. Baka isipin ang mga tao, tsina-charge na sa korte,” he said. </p><p>Lacson said the recommended preliminary investigation could cover various charges. </p><p>&quot;Marami. Merong direct bribery, merong plunder, merong malversation, merong violation ng anti-graft, may violation ng ethical standards, marami yun. Same pa rin,” he said. </p><p>Lacson also revealed he met with his colleagues on Monday and the draft would be adjusted before being routed for signature.</p><p>He said he was “confident” the report can gather at least 11 signatures for it to become official.</p><p>“Walang nabago. Walang substantive na revised. Pareho pa rin. Yun lang yung language na ginamit,” he said of the draft.</p><p>&quot;I even explained why we avoided &#x27;charged&#x27; kasi to laymen like us, parang &#x27;charged in court&#x27; na ang dating or interpretation, so I heeded the request of some of my colleagues in this regard,&quot; he added. </p><p>Lacson refused to divulge what was discussed during their meeting with representatives from the Ombudsman, Department of Justice and Anti-Money Laundering Council on Monday. </p><p>“Classified information yung iba. So, that was an executive session; for validation,” he said. </p><p>Lacson urged senators who would disagree with their report: “Mag-present sila ng ebidensya.”</p><p>“Madaling magsabi na, bakit ito wala, bakit ito nandyan. Where&#x27;s the evidence? We go by the evidence na nag-gather sa Blue Ribbon hearings… They are members of the committee. Tumulong sila. Hindi sila, instead na mag-criticize lang, tumulong na lang,&quot; he said. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ROMUALDEZ, MARCOS </strong></div><p>Lacson could not say what their recommendation was for former Speaker Martin Romualdez.</p><p>Neither did he say if there was any recommendation about President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.</p><p>&quot;Malayo na. Kasi impeachment, impeachable officer ang Presidente. Na-<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/9/house-panel-approves-report-throwing-out-marcos-impeachment-bid-1102">dismiss </a>na nga yung impeachment complaint,&quot; he said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/5/house-justice-panel-chair-we-voted-independently-on-marcos-impeach-cases-1452">House justice panel chair: We voted &#x27;independently&#x27; on Marcos impeachment complaints</a></div><p>Lacson said they had not presented the report to the minority bloc. He said he would check the Senate rules if a signature from the minority was needed for the report to be valid.</p><p>The senator said they were also recommending remedial legislation, including deputizing private lawyers to help with prosecution and giving the Ombudsman an enforcement arm to serve search warrants and lessen reliance on the police and National Bureau of Investigation, among others. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><iframe width="1349" height="759" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5axbQtm1P7M" title="Lacson confirms draft Blue Ribbon report recommending charges vs Chiz, Jinggoy, Joel | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Senate President Pro Tempore and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday there would be "no substantive" revision in his panel’s draft report on the flood control scandal, despite a change in its "language." </p>

Senate President Pro Tempore and Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday there would be "no substantive" revision in his panel’s draft report on the flood control scandal, despite a change in its "language."

Lacson: No 'substantive' revision in blue ribbon report despite change in 'language'

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Lacson: No 'substantive' revision in blue ribbon report despite change in 'language'

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 10, 2026 01:49 PM PHT

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Updated February 10, 2026 04:21 PM PHT

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Lacson

Blue Ribbon

flood control

Ping Lacson

Blue Ribbon Committee

Philippine Senate

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