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Senator Erwin Tulfo (Courtesy: Senate of the Philippines)
Senator Erwin Tulfo on Wednesday claimed that the ongoing standoff in the Senate began after a Blue Ribbon Committee report allegedly implicated at least three members of the majority bloc in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
According to Tulfo, the report prepared by then-Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Sen. Panfilo Lacson triggered the leadership change on May 11 that saw Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano elected Senate president, replacing Sen. Vicente Sotto III by a 13-9-2 vote.
“Let us begin with the question: What prompted the coup? Based on the report from the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing led by Senator Ping Lacson, several senators were named. Among them were Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva and Mark Villar. Their names were mentioned in connection with flood control projects,” Tulfo said in an interview with ANC host Karen Davila.
“This became the problem. They felt they could not control the process and could not influence the Blue Ribbon chairman, resulting in a coup,” he added.
Tulfo said senators involved in the leadership change refused to sign the committee report, arguing that it adversely affected their colleagues and questioning why the names of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, other congressmen, and officials from the Executive branch were not included.
He said Lacson urged all committee members, including Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, to sign the report so it could be presented on the Senate floor for discussion and scrutiny.
“They did not want to sign, so the report stalled. That is where the problem started. They felt they were being persecuted and claimed that everyone facing cases was being targeted by the administration. That is what happened. That is why there was a takeover,” Tulfo said.
Tulfo also said the continued absence of the Senate majority during plenary sessions on Monday and Tuesday was aimed at preventing possible changes in Senate leadership.
Following the arrest of Estrada and the continued absence of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is reportedly evading arrest, Tulfo said the Senate is now effectively divided 11-11.
The majority bloc is composed of Cayetano, Estrada, Dela Rosa, Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Christopher Lawrence Go, Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Villanueva, and siblings Camille and Mark Villar.
The minority bloc consists of Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Francis Pangilinan, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, Sherwin Gatchalian, Lito Lapid, Lacson, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Risa Hontiveros, Joseph Victor Ejercito and Sotto.
In a livestream Tuesday, Cayetano accused minority senators of attempting to create a “puppet Senate” amid the chamber’s deadlock and discussions about possible leadership changes.
The Senate president also described the boycott as a response to minority lawmakers who walked out of a key vote on online legislative participation on May 26. — Joel E. Zurbano
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Credit belongs to: www.manilastandard.net
