Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday, October 22 said the minority bloc is ready to work with Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Lacson, who is leading the upper chamber’s investigation into the anomalies in the government’s flood control projects, will return as chair of the panel in November, according to Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

“As I’ve said, it’s the majority’s choice, and the minority respects that. We will continue to work with Senator Lacson in the spirit of cooperation and transparency — because the stakes for our nation are too high for us not to work together,” Cayetano said.

“What matters now is not who chairs the Committee or how many times we change our minds on who leads it, but whether we can agree on one clear direction and a fair set of ground rules,” the senator added.

Cayetano stressed that the Blue Ribbon panel’s power lies in its integrity.

“(That is) in making sure that both our goals of uncovering the truth and the means to achieve them are beyond politics and personal agenda,” he stressed.

“The easy path is to use the hearings to score political points. The harder but more necessary path is to expose the masterminds behind corruption and push for genuine, systemic reforms,” added the lawmaker.

Cayetano said the Senate owes it to the Filipino people to restore their trust in the country’s institutions — and that means setting politics aside, laying down the facts, and following the evidence wherever it leads.

“The Senate is at its best when it rises above partisanship and stands together for truth and accountability. That’s the standard the Minority aims for — that’s the standard we should all aim for,” he said.