Senator Lacson: Evidence, not noise, can put in jail culprits behind flood control mess

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Monday said evidence, and not noise, will indict and convict those involved in the corruption behind anomalous flood control projects.

At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing into the issue, Lacson tore into "skeptics, detractors, and hijackers" for twisting public anger to divide the nation.

"Your noise will not silence the truth; neither does it provide any help in our investigation. Your noise cannot convict - and won’t even indict the malefactors in this flood control mess. Only evidence does," he said.

"With all that being said - as the Chairman of this committee - I say to you: Shut the f… up!" Lacson said, referring to detractors of the committee's work.

Lacson also stressed their insinuations that the Blue Ribbon Committee is useless is "not only insensitive to its members but an insult to our fellow Filipinos who have consistently followed our hearings and participated in the Trillion-Peso March" - including the clergy, students, ordinary workers, and all concerned citizens.

These Filipinos became aware of the "unbridled and systemic corruption" mainly due to the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and the media who cover the proceedings, the senator said.

Lacson noted that the Blue Ribbon Committee under his chairmanship has uncovered through its hearings the "top-to-bottom systemic misuse and abuse of public funds involving high officials in the executive and legislative branches, even the Commission on Audit."

He noted that some now face charges before the Sandiganbayan and the courts, while others face preliminary investigations before the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice. These include contractors and high officials in the executive and legislative branches of government.

At least ₱21.7 billion in bank accounts and other assets have been frozen by written order of the Court of Appeals.

Some personalities have also agreed to cooperate in restituting funds and strengthening the government’s cases including plunder, malversation of public funds through falsification, and graft.

Meanwhile, Lacson said the committee hearings exposed the conflict of interest in the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB).

He mentioned how some blacklisted companies resurface under new names; how some "rent out" their licenses, and how billion-peso contracts are awarded to severely undercapitalized firms.

On the positive side, Lacson said the hearings paved the way for landmark transparency reforms in the budget process.

One of the reforms is the ivestreaming of open bicameral meetings that detail budget amendments and insertions that are now traceable to their proponents.

There are also now safeguards to ensure that no vague or undefined infrastructure projects are included in the General Appropriations Act.

"We laid out how this deeply rooted scheme operates with systemic precision. It involves a network of actors: namely, the Contractors Group, who collude among themselves - to rig public biddings and monopolize flood control projects; key DPWH coordinators, who manage project allocations and orchestrate the collection and delivery of kickbacks; and intermediaries, agents or bagmen, who receive these illicit funds allegedly in behalf of their principals," Lacson said.

"Let me emphasize one point: we always go where the evidence leads us. We do not target any particular person; nor do we have the intention to cover up for anybody," he added.

-Paraluman News