Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon is up in arms over what he described as the "coordinated political operation" that was allegedly meant to "poison public discourse" in the investigation on anomalous flood control projects.

This, as Ridon highlighted on Wednesday, Oct. 29 the Manila Regional Trial Court’s (RTC) confirmation that the affidavit of controversial Senate Blue Ribbon Committee witness Orly Regala Guteza was forged.

“This ruling is a decisive vindication of fact over fiction. It reveals how falsehoods were deliberately engineered to mislead official inquiries and poison public discourse,” Ridon said in a statement.

The lawyer-legislator--who had led House hearings on the flood control projects mess in his capacity as overall chairman of the Infrastructure Committee (infra comm)--slammed the use of "lies and fabricated evidence" in the probe by way of Guteza.

He said the court’s decision restores integrity to institutional processes and vindicates those who had been unjustly maligned.

Guteza’s surprise appearance before a Blue Ribbon panel hearing last Sept. 25 caused much stir after he boldly claimed that he and several companions personally delivered several suitcases loaded with cash to the residences of Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez and then- Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co.

Romualdez, a former House Speaker, swiftly denied the accusation, which he described as fabricated, malicious, and politically motivated.

In her Oct. 24 resolution, Executive Judge Carolina Icasiano-Sison ruled that Guteza failed to rebut the presumption that he authored the forged notarization of the Sinumpaang Salaysay (sworn statement).

The court cleared lawyer Petchie Rose Espera, whose notarial details were falsified, and ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Guteza and all others who used or circulated the forged document.

Ridon urged the DOJ to “immediately implement the court’s directive and prosecute all those responsible for this calculated falsification".

“This was no clerical mistake — it was a premeditated attempt to subvert truth and derail a Senate inquiry,” Ridon said. “The DOJ must act decisively so that political forgery never again finds refuge in impunity.”

“Our legislative inquiries — in both the Senate and the House — depend on the authenticity of every document submitted. When fabricated evidence is used to manipulate proceedings, it is not just an attack on individuals but on Congress itself,” he underscored.

“Those who forged, spread, or exploited false documents must be held fully accountable — before the law and before the people,” said Ridon, who added that democracy "cannot thrive on deceit".