Embattled Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano announced on Friday, May 29 the creation of a Blue Ribbon Subcommittee that will continue the Upper Chamber’s investigation on the anomalous flood control projects.

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, one of the vice chairman assigned by the new majority bloc, will preside the blue ribbon subcommittee.

“So we finished a caucus over lunch and we agreed, subject to some minor discussion among our chairpersons and the paperwork, that a subcommittee will be formed sa (on the) flood control (issue),” Cayetano said in a Facebook live.

“And Senator Marcoleta will issue the notices on Monday para ituloy na sa Thursday yung (to schedule on Thursday the) flood control scam hearings,” he said.

Cayetano assured that the subcommittee’s investigation into the anomalous flood control projects will be impartial.

Prior to the chaotic Senate leadership change last May 11, the Blue Ribbon Committee used to be headed by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. After Cayetano’s installation as the new Senate chief, the majority bloc elected Sen. Pia Cayetano as the new blue ribbon committee chief, with Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Marcoleta as the vice chairpersons.

“It will be impartial and we want the whole truth and not only some truth or some true, some not true to come out,” he said.

“Kung makikita nyo, may conflict na kaagad. Sabi ng Ombudsman, meron mastermind. Sabi ni Senator Lacson, walang mastermind. Sabi ni Senator Lacson, ito yung mga dapat hindi imbitahin. Sabi naman ni Senator Marcoleta, ito dapat imbitahin. So I'm inviting the whole public bantayan niyo (ang) Senado (You can see there is immediate conflict. The Ombudsman said there is a mastermind, Sen. Lacson said there’s no mastermind. Sen. Lacson said these are the one that should be invited. Sen. Marcoleta on the other hand said these should be invited. So I’m asking the whole public to closely watch the Senate),” Cayetano said.

Under Lacson’s leadership, the Blue Ribbon panel investigated several government officials and lawmakers who were linked to anomalous infrastructure projects. Three incumbent senators: Jinggoy Estrada, Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Joel Villanueva—who now all belonged to the new majority bloc—were then included in a list of individuals recommended to face preliminary investigation based on a draft partial report or what he called “Chairman’s Progress report.”

This, after the draft report failed to secure the required signatures, but Lacson managed to bring his proposed recommendation on the Senate floor.

“Depending on the evidence, the prosecutors will determine the appropriate charges based on their own assessment of the evidence already submitted and those that will still be submitted by the committee, as well as other evidence they may gather during the case build-up process at the Department of Justice (DOJ), or during fact-finding and preliminary investigation if the case is with the Ombudsman,” Lacson had said when he read the progress report.