'

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is preparing to investigate an unnamed government agency over a possible “big-time corruption” scheme involving public funds.

In an interview on DWIZ on Saturday, Aug. 8, the panel's chairman, Senator Erwin Tulfo, says the committee is still in the process of gathering documents and testimonies in coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman before publicly identifying the agency.

“Merong isang agency na medyo malaki-laki, malaking pondo ang binibigay na napansin namin na, pero lingid sa kaalaman ng mga kababayan natin malaking pondo na pala ang binibigay, pero wala pa rin ang nangyayari (There’s an agency that is quite big, with a large amount of funding, that we noticed—unknown to our countrymen—that a large amount has already been given, but nothing is happening),” Tulfo said.

He says the committee expects to obtain documents from the Ombudsman in the coming weeks and is also seeking statements from employees of the agency who may know about the alleged irregularities.

Tulfo said the department has received funding for years despite what he described as a lack of concrete results.

“Parang wala namang ginagawa talaga itong agency nito. Wala pang nagagawa. Puro pangako. Puro kwento. Wala naman nangyayari (It seems like this agency really isn’t doing anything. Nothing has been accomplished. It’s all promises and talk, but nothing is happening),” he said.

He said the agency had repeatedly promised to deliver services, including in remote areas, but had allegedly failed to fulfill those commitments despite continued government funding.

The senator declined to identify the department, since the committee was still in the process of collating evidence.

He said the investigation would focus on what happened to the funds allocated to the agency and why its promised services had allegedly not materialized.

Tulfo stressed that the department was within the Blue Ribbon Committee’s jurisdiction.

“Actually, tingin namin it's a big-time corruption. Puro pangako. Wala naman nangyari (We believe this is a case of big-time corruption. It’s all promises, but nothing has happened),” Tulfo said.

He said the committee would announce more details once it had secured the necessary documents and testimonies. The senator said the issue could affect Filipinos across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.