Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has underscored anew--this time in a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing--the lack of proof linking former House Speaker Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez to anomalous flood control projects.

House quad-committee (quad-comm) version 2.0 overall chairman, Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. highlighted this detail Tuesday, Jan. 20, a day after the hearing that Lacson himself presided.

According to Abante, the veteran senator’s statement confirms that there is not enough evidence to implicate Romualdez in the massive corruption scandal involving Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects.

“This did not come from an ally or a defender—it came from a senator known for digging deep,” Abante said in a statement. “And after digging, he found no evidence.”

During the blue ribbon panel hearing, Lacson reckoned that the testimonies presented by the witnesses were insufficient to implicate Romualdez, and conceded that no evidence has been established against the ex-Speaker.

"I repeat hindi ito enough, itong information is not enough to implicate, not even implicate the former Speaker. This is just, we may just consider this as a lead kasi mayroong connection, but of course di-neny naman ni Curlee Discaya so let’s leave it at that,” the ranking senator said.

(I repeat, this is not enough, this information is not sufficient to implicate, not even to implicate the former Speaker. This is just something we may consider as a lead since there is a connection, but of course Curlee Discaya has denied it, so let’s leave it at that.)

Abante said this statement did not come from a political ally of Romualdez's, but from a senator known for his hardline stance against corruption.

The Manila solon said the Senate had already conducted hearings, received testimonies, and examined records related to the issue, but no evidence directly linking Romualdez to the alleged anomalies had emerged.

“For former Speaker Romualdez, the record is clear. Measured against the evidence and due process, the allegations do not stand," Abante said.

He added that instead of prolonging unsupported accusations, the attention should now shift to improving safeguards in infrastructure spending and ensuring that projects deliver results for communities,

Discaya, a Pasig City-based contractor, is a central figure in the flood control projects mess.

Romualdez counsel, lawyer Ade Fajardo earlier pointed to Discaya's testimony under oath that he had never entered South Forbes Park, in Makati City. This undercut claims by two Senate witnesses--aliases “Joy” and “Marie"--that Discaya approached anyone there or issued instructions related to the posh property.

“The allegations aired in the Senate are logically and physically impossible,” Fajardo said.

Earlier in the proceedings, Discaya denied the allegations attributed to him, and told the Senate: “Hindi pa kami nakakapasok sa South Forbes Park. Hindi namin alam kung [ano] itsura ng mga bahay diyan (We have yet to enter South Forbes Park. We don't know what the houses look like inside).”

The statements were made following testimony from two witnesses identified as staff of a former tenant of a South Forbes Park property, who claimed that Discaya introduced himself as a contractor.

Supposedly, he mentioned Romualdez as the alleged buyer, and asked occupants to vacate the premises. The Senate inquiry arose from a dispute involving a non-renewed lease

As of Monday, no deed of sale, contract, or payment record naming Romualdez has been presented before the committee. Records also show that Romualdez was not the tenant, not the owner, and not a party to any transaction involving the property.