Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday, May 5 revealed that seven (7) senators have now signed the partial committee report of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the anomalous flood control projects.

According to Lacson, who also heads the blue ribbon panel,Sen. Raffy Tulfo was the latest who signed the partial committee report.

“To date, almost three (3) months have passed, only seven (7), including the present chairperson and the Senate President, have affixed our signatures to this draft,” Lacson said.

Lacson said those who signed the partial report are Senators Erwin Tulfo (vice chairman of the panel), Risa Hontiveros, Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, and Raffy Tulfo.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Lacson, himself, also signed the partial report. At least nine (9) signatures are needed before the partial committee report can be debated and acted upon in the plenary.

“While I disagree with those who have not, let me state for the record Mr. President that I respect their decision even as I understand whatever reasons they have for not signing,” Lacson said in his privilege speech when he delivered the Chairman’s Progress Report on the flood control probe.

“Bottom line—it is their right as Senators of the Republic. Nonetheless, it bears heavy emphasis: most of the findings of the partial committee report are no longer new and first view—they have already been validated, if not overtaken by current events,” he said. 

Lacson reminded that as provided in the rules, Section 1, Article 5 of the Blue Ribbon Committee Rules, committee reports must be signed by a majority of the committee’s members before they can be filed with the Bills and Index Division of the Senate.

“Given the scale of the investigation and the details of the discussion, which as you all know, reached more than 400 pages, sans the annexes, each member has been afforded more than sufficient time to examine and scrutinize the full substance of the report,” he said.

“Everyone is given a full opportunity to review and propose revisions, modifications, deletions and corrections,” he pointed out.

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, a member of the Senate minority bloc and former head of the committee, and who earlier admitted to not signing the partial committee report, justified his decision saying the copy he received was not signed by Lacson himself.

But Lacson, in his speech, reiterated that the original copy already contained his signature, and that the digital version, sent out to members of the panel, serves as the formal notification of the report’s contents.