A pending Blue Ribbon Committee report reportedly recommending the filing of criminal and administrative charges against lawmakers – including three incumbent senators – in connection with anomalous flood control projects may have triggered the attempt to change the Senate leadership, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson on Thursday said.
“We have reason to suspect that it also originated there,” Lacson said.
“Some of our colleagues in the majority also had vulnerabilities if it appealed to their emotions,” he added.
Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, and Francis Escudero are among those named in a leaked copy of the draft report, along with former Senator Bong Revilla and former representatives Zaldy Co and Mitch Cajayon-Uy.
He said discussions with Senate President Tito Sotto III pointed to a perception that the leadership might not shield members from fallout.
“It’s easy to say, ‘You see, the leadership can’t protect you, we can’t be protected by the leadership,’” Lacson said.
Sotto confirmed Wednesday the majority bloc blocked an effort to remove him from the Senate presidency.
The minority bloc reportedly offered the position to Senator Loren Legarda, who declined the offer.
As this developed, a lawyer has filed a petition for full disclosure of the Blue Ribbon’s draft report on its investigation into flood control projects.
According to Eldrige Marvin Aceron, the petition is in accordance with the right of the Filipino people to access information pertaining to matters of public interest as stipulated in Article III, Section 7 of the Constitution.
On February 4, 2026, Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, JV Ejercito, and Sherwin Gatchalian reportedly withdrew their signatures from the draft report — prompting the petitioner’s request to compel the three to provide written explanations for their retractions.
The petition included six requests, one of which is the release of the complete and unredacted draft of the draft report. It also called for the preservation of all versions, including the original draft signed prior to the three retractions.
Additionally, the petition seeks to provide a certified true copy to the Ethics Committee concerning pending complaints against Escudero and Ejercito.
A total of 347 individuals signed as co-signatories, including Constitutional Commissioner Ed Garcia and National Artist Virgilio Almario.
On October 2, 2025, Aceron also filed a verified ethics complaint against Escudero, documenting the P30 million campaign donation received from Lawrence Lubiano and the P16.67 billion government contract awarded to Lubiano’s Centerways Construction.
