Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairperson Erwin Tulfo said on Sunday, August 2 he will consult fellow senators on whether or not the panel should continue its investigation into the alleged flood control anomalies.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, during the hearing of the Committee on Energy on Thursday, July 30, 2026, pushes for the removal of the system loss charge passed on to electricity consumers. (Senate PRIB photo)

According to Tulfo, the committee must first be formally constituted before any decision can be made.

“I don't want to make a unilateral decision to drop it; Senate President (Sherwin) Gatchalian and I agreed to form the Blue Ribbon Committee membership first,” Tulfo said in an interview on Radio DZBB.

“Once formed, we will meet to seek everyone's consensus on whether to pursue the case currently with the Ombudsman—listening to the views of the majority and the minority regarding the direction to take,” Tulfo further said.

"I will convene the committee and ask for the consensus of both the majority and minority. Should we continue handling these flood control cases? Especially those that have already been discussed, investigated (by the committee) and are now with the Ombudsman? Should we continue investigating them, or should we just leave them to the Ombudsman?" he added.

The senator noted the Senate has so many things to do, including Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

“There is so much on our plate right now—impeachment proceedings, fast-tracking certain laws, and the issue of Oil Deregulation coming up next week. We need to discuss the latter and see if a price cap is feasible, given the current unchecked price hikes; we need to examine if a price cap can be applied,” he pointed out.

To recall, the Blue Ribbon panel last held a hearing on the alleged flood control anomalies on June 8, at the height of the Senate leadership dispute between senators Gatchalian and Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.

Since the Ombudsman is already investigating these issues, Tulfo said he sees no point for the panel to also investigate as it would only duplicate their job.

“So what’s the point? We conduct investigations in aid of legislation, while the Ombudsman investigates for possible prosecution,” Tulfo pointed out.

Nevertheless, he said the committee may leave the cases already under investigation to the Office of the Ombudsman and remain open to launching its own inquiry if new personalities become implicated.

“Yes, for those existing cases. But if there are new developments or new officials become implicated, then we will investigate,” he said.