The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has suspended its hearings on the flood control scandal, halting proceedings until a partial committee report can be advanced to the Senate floor.
Committee chairperson Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said continuing the hearings without reaching a conclusion in the form of a report that senators can debate, amend, and adopt would be pointless. He stressed that the process requires a formal report before any further inquiry can move forward.
“I do not expect any member of the minority to sign. They can offer all kinds of reasons all they want, wise or otherwise, not to fulfill their duties as members. It’s on them, not on the chairman,” he said.
Lacson said members of the panel, particularly from the minority, are expected to sign the report so it can be reported out and brought to plenary, where it can undergo full deliberation. Without the required support, the committee cannot proceed with additional hearings tied to the investigation.
“That said, I am suspending all hearings until I have reported out to sponsor in plenary the partial committee report at the very least,” he added.
The report has so far secured only a limited number of signatures, including Lacson and several senators, falling short of what is needed to move the process forward.
Lacson also cited the Senate’s rules governing inquiries in aid of legislation, saying these must result in recommended legislative actions through a committee report, with the Blue Ribbon Committee also empowered to recommend the filing of criminal cases based on its findings.
“Our Senate rules are clear as they are basic. Thus, all inquiries in aid of legislation should end up in recommended legislative actions via a committee report, except the Blue Ribbon Committee which can also investigate and recommend the filing of criminal cases for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance,” Lacson said.
The suspension centers on the committee’s inability to finalize and advance its report, effectively pausing the investigation until the required legislative step is completed.
