ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Lawyer seeks full disclosure of draft blue ribbon report

Lawyer seeks full disclosure of draft blue ribbon report

Published Feb 5, 2026 10:40 am

At A Glance

  • A lawyer has filed a petition seeking full disclosure of the draft committee report of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee regarding the anomalous flood control projects probe.
A lawyer has filed a petition seeking full disclosure of the draft committee report of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee regarding the anomalous flood control projects probe.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, resumed its probe into alleged irregularities in flood control projects on Monday, January 19, 2026, in Pasay City. The hearing featured agenda items dubbed “Flooded Gates of Corruption,” “Flooded Gates of Hell,” and “The Philippines Under Water.” It marked the committee’s first hearing of the year, with five new witnesses presenting testimony, including three who appeared with their identities concealed. (Mark Balmores)
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, resumed its probe into alleged irregularities in flood control projects on Monday, January 19, 2026, in Pasay City. The hearing featured agenda items dubbed “Flooded Gates of Corruption,” “Flooded Gates of Hell,” and “The Philippines Under Water.” It marked the committee’s first hearing of the year, with five new witnesses presenting testimony, including three who appeared with their identities concealed. (Mark Balmores)
In a Facebook post, lawyer Marvin Aceron said that he is invoking the constitutional right of the Filipino people to information on matters of public concern.
The petition came just after published details of the leaked draft report surfaced on social media on Feb. 3.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, later confirmed that the draft 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.
A copy of the draft and partial report, which was previously leaked to the media, showed that aside from plunder, the committee also sought the filing of malversation of public funds, and direct bribery against Co, former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Estrada, Villanueva, Escudero and former Caloocan City Rep. Mitch Cajayon-Uy.
In Aceron's petition, he demanded the release of the full draft report unredacted; preserve all versions, including the originally-signed draft before the three withdrawals; require Zubiri, Ejercito, and Gatchalian to explain in writing why they withdrew; furnish a certified copy to the Ethics Committee for the pending complaints; and order Sen. Ejercito to inhibit from all proceedings involving Sen. Escudero.
However, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said that if other committee members have not even read or seen it, it cannot be made public.
"Precisely it’s a draft and therefore not official," Sotto said.
"They (committee members) met yesterday ang agreed on how the committee report may be filed," he added.
Meanwhile, Lacson said that he will discuss the matter with Sotto, the Blue Ribbon panel, and the Senate's legal department.

Related Tags

Ping Lacson Senate President Vicente \"Tito\" Sotto III Senate Blue Ribbon Committee flood control
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.