Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said on Sunday, April 26, he is preparing a Chairman's Progress Report on the anomalous flood control projects to pave the way for the resumption of hearings.

Lacson, who is also chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said he is keen on inviting anew former House speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and have him join a faceoff with captured former Akbayan Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co and the former soldiers who claimed to have delivered kickbacks to various personalities on Co’s orders, including Orly Guteza.

The senator said the goal is also to help the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman in its case-buildup.

"We have drafted a Chairman's Progress Report. I cannot report out the partial committee report on the Senate floor due to the lack of needed signatures. So to get it over with, I have thought of drafting the Chairman's Progress Report, which has a precedent," he said in a mix of English and Filipino in an interview on DZBB radio Sunday.

"We owe it to the Filipino people. The Blue Ribbon Committee has conducted eight hearings on the matter but has yet to come up with even a partial report," he further said.

According to Lacson, the Chairman's Progress Report will contain the findings of the partial report, and include pieces of evidence gathered during the hearings as attachments. It will also include visual aids that will help the public better understand the report once it is presented in plenary.

Lacson said he remains open to more senators signing the partial committee report so he can sponsor it on the floor where it can be debated upon, amended and adopted. He said rendering the chairman’s progress report “is as good as sponsoring the partial report.”

Once it is filed, the senator said this could pave the way for the resumption of panel hearings - and allow the panel to furnish the DOJ and the Ombudsman with a copy of the report - including the pieces of evidence that may help their investigation.

“Rendering the chairman's progress report is as good as sponsoring the partial report. So we can resume hearings once the chairman's progress report is rendered because the contents of the partial report become a matter of public record," he said.

"The Office of the Ombudsman informally asked for a copy of our partial report. We are studying if this can be done especially as the partial report has not been tackled on the Senate floor. But one way to address this is with the chairman's progress report, that will help the Ombudsman in its investigation," he said.

"We must help each other and integrate our efforts so the investigation will be clearer," Lacson stressed.

Romualdez needs to clarify

Moreover, the lawmaker said he is keen on inviting the former House leader to the next hearing, especially after he hinted in his video message that he may link personalities to the flood control mess.

Lacson is referring to a video message where Romualdez insisted it was Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Co who were responsible for the “mangling” of the 2025 national budget, denying he interfered in the discussions.

"So long as there are aspects to the issue that his participation is needed - and it seems that way because he needs to clarify some of his recent statements - we'll keep inviting him," he said.

But he said it would be better if Romualdez faces off with Co and the ex-soldiers who claimed delivering kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects to him and various other personalities.

"I am not a judge but I have experience in investigation and intelligence. It is important to observe their demeanor. Assuming Romualdez attends along with Co and some ex-soldiers including (Orly) Guteza, we can ask them questions and gauge who is telling the truth and who is lying," he said.

At the same time, Lacson maintained that the Blue Ribbon panel will follow the evidence even if it leads to Malacañang, or possibly to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

For now, however, there is still no value to Co’s claims linking the President to the delivery of kickbacks because they were not made under oath, the senator stressed.