Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III released on Tuesday five names who are likely to take over the chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon committee following the resignation of Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson.
The list includes Senate Deputy Majority Leaders JV Ejercito, Risa Hontiveros, Senators Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan, Pia Cayetano, and Raffy Tulfo.
Lacson officially submitted his resignation as chairman of the Blue Ribbon panel after losing the confidence of some of his colleagues. He denied insinuations that his direction of the suspended investigation on the anomalous flood control projects was politically motivated.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. This narrative is categorically false. These misrepresentations are being floated mostly by critics opposed to our efforts to get to the bottom of the flood control anomalies,” Lacson said in his resignation letter dated October 7.
“We go where the evidence leads us, not by the noise coming from highly partisan political persuasions… I do not need to amass political capital much less at the expense of anybody because I entertain no further political plans after my term ends in 2031,” he added.
Pangilinan earlier issued a statement, saying he was hoping Lacson would reconsider his decision to step down as chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee. He said no one in the majority bloc sought to replace him in the panel.
“I appeal to Sen Ping to stay on as Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman and appeal as well to our colleagues in the majority bloc to reaffirm our support for him to stay on even as we iron out our differences,” Pangilinan said in a social media post.
Ejercito also declined the nomination, saying there are other senators who are more qualified to lead the anti-corruption panel. “Thank you for considering me as chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, but I know my limitation,” he said.
Tulfo echoed the same sentiments. While he was “very flattered” to be considered, he said he would rather focus on his existing roles leading the committees on Labor, Migrant Workers, and Public Services. “If offered to me, I will humbly decline,” he said.
In a press conference on Monday, Sotto acknowledged Lacson’s frustrations after hearing the comments of some senators—mostly from the minority bloc—over how he was conducting the hearings of the corruption scandal.
“Senator Lacson is frustrated. He is not stressed… He’s frustrated because when he holds hearings, people complain about it. But when he doesn’t, people also complain about why there are no hearings,” the Senate President said.
“Sometimes in our hearings, there are spurious issues—topics that shouldn’t really be discussed in the Blue Ribbon Committee—but they still manage to slip in. To a certain extent, I understand his frustration,” Sotto added.
