Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday, May 5 finally presented on the floor the Blue Ribbon Committee’s “Chairman’s Progress Report” which contains the findings of its draft partial report on the flood control mess.

Lacson’s report includes preliminary findings on several personalities, including lawmakers from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, proponents and intermediaries, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, contractors, and other participants, who are involved in the alleged diversion of public funds.

Though he did not name the lawmakers during his privilege speech, Lacson showed a “menu” of possible criminal charges against several individuals shown in the list, and these include former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, former party-list representatives and House appropriations committee chairman Zaldy Co, incumbent senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Joel Villanueva, and Jinggoy Estrada.

Their names were listed for either preliminary or fact-finding investigation, or case build-up for possible violations of direct bribery, anti-graft and corrupt practices and also plunder.

“Evidence on record shows how the flood control corruption scandal exposed a systemic, coordinated multi-actor process…Who are the actors? In the course of the hearings, we have identified key actors who were implicated in the flood control anomalies and classified them into eight (8) groups,” Lacson said in his privilege speech.

He identified them as the proponents, the bagmen or intermediaries, DPWH facilitators and coordinators, so-called “DPWH” group, contractors who are dangling “commitments,” and the rest of the actors also belong to the Executive branch, bankers and constitutional oversight group.

 "The road to full accountability is long. But we must start to agree somewhere. This Chairman’s Report is a decisive step forward. We owe it to the witnesses who spoke up, to the experts who provided evidence, and most importantly, to the millions of Filipinos who find themselves neck-deep in floodwaters every time a storm hits. We cannot let their efforts—and ours—go to waste," Lacson said.

"Mr. President, this report is a referral-and-reform package. Simple lang: imbestigahan nang legal, alamin kung ano ang nangyari, bawiin ang kaya pang bawiin, at ayusin ang batas—para hindi doble bayad ang Pilipino: sa buwis at sa delubyo ng baha (Investigate and find out what happened, and recover what can be recovered. Also fix the laws so Filipinos won't pay twice - with taxes and with their lives because of the floods)," he added. "Kung mali ang alegasyon (If the allegations are wrong), the process clears them. Kung totoo (If they are true), the process convicts — with due process and accountability - makukulong ang dapat makulong (those who deserve to be jailed should be jailed),” he further said.

Lacson said that based on the evidence on record, the flood control mess is a “systemic and parasitic” greed that resulted to severe flooding woes faced by Filipinos.

Committee Findings

Lacson said the findings of the committee showed:

l  The flood control scandal stemmed not from a shortage of funds. "Instead, the scale of funding, coupled with weak internal controls and criminally complicit oversight, made the sector an attractive target for systematic plunder of the public treasury, effectively leaving our citizens exposed to a deluge of misery."
 


l  The anatomy of the flood control anomaly is inherently parasitic, characterized by a network of actors spanning the highest levels of authority. Such anatomy exploited an institutionalized workflow deeply entrenched within the bureaucracy, employing mechanisms so brazen and gross that they either compromise, recruit, and/or bypass oversight.
 


l  The flood control mess represents the evolution of the pork barrel system. "In this scheme, corruption takes different forms and names: from congressional 'slabs of pork' now euphemistically rebranded as 'allocables,' 'leadership funds,' and 'insertions' — extending their reach even into the Unprogrammed Appropriations under the GAA," he said.
 


l  The corruption uncovered in the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office shows the blueprint for how flood control funds are diverted, revealing the interconnected systems that facilitate the corruption.
 


l  The dire consequences of this institutionalized plunder "are not merely financial; they are felt in the structural erosion of our democratic institutions, the profound disenfranchisement of the Filipino people, and the tearing of the moral fiber of the country," Lacson said.


Budget-Related Proposals:

Moving forward, Lacson said the panel proposed the removal of "allocables" and "leadership funds" proposed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

"This is a pork barrel incarnate and it clouds our fiscal transparency," he said.

He also detailed proposals to enhance accountability and anti-corruption, including:Amendment of Republic Act No. 6770 (Ombudsman Act of 1989);



l  Defining Beneficial Ownership and Conflict of Interest so that no legislator can hide behind a corporate veil;
 


l  Strict prohibition and higher penalties against government employees gambling in casinos;

l  A law for the digitalization of Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN)/Personal Data Sheet and a law for the comprehensive whistleblower protection measure to strengthen oversight of government projects;


l  A law that will facilitate and support the withdrawal of COA auditors and their recall to the central home office from their auditee agencies to ensure independent and accountable reporting.