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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider SC denies TRO to preserve original draft of Senate committee report on probe on flood control mess

SC denies TRO to preserve original draft of Senate committee report on probe on flood control mess

Published May 14, 2026 04:40 pm
The Supreme Court (SC) has denied the plea for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that could have preserved the original version of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s (SBRC) daft partial report on its probe on the multi-billion-peso anomalous flood control projects.
Instead, the SC ordered the SBRC, then headed by Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, to comment in 15 days on the petition filed by lawyers Eldrige Marvin Aceron, Sikini Labastilla and Purificacion Bartolome-Bernabe.
Last May 12, the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed receiving the partial committee report transmitted by the office of Senator Lacson on its flood control investigations.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the document will be referred to the teams handling various flood control-related investigations for evaluation and possible use in the ongoing cases.
Lacson had also said that the report will also be transmitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In their petition, the lawyers sought a TRO to preserve the original version of the draft report that bears the signatures of Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, and Sherwin Gatchalian.
Petitioner Aceron is the lead complainant in the pending ethics complaint against Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero on the ₱30 million in campaign donations from the owner of Centerways Construction and ₱16.67 billion in Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contracts awarded to the firm.
The petitioners filed a case before the SC after the SBRC denied their request for an official copy of the document.
They told the SC that the deliberative process privilege can no longer be invoked after Lacson disclosed the report’s contents to the public on numerous occasions.
They also cited official statements and media interviews confirming that the draft report recommended plunder and other charges against several sitting senators and was based on testimonial and documentary evidence gathered during the committee hearings.
They added that Lacson had confirmed that the draft SBRC report recommended the filing of plunder and other criminal charges against Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada and former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co.
They stressed that the public has the right to information under Article III, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution.
Citing reports, the petitioners said that Zubiri, Ejercito and Gatchalian have withdrawn their signatures after the draft report was leaked to the public last February 3.
Aside from Lacson, several senators have already signed the partial report including former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, Erwin Tulfo, and Kiko Pangilinan.
In their petition, the lawyers also asked the SC to order Senators Zubiri, Ejercito, and Gatchalian to submit written explanations for withdrawing their signatures from the draft report, and to direct the SBRC to furnish a certified true copy of the draft to the Senate Ethics Committee for use in pending ethics complaints against Escudero and Ejercito.

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