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Neil Jayson Servallos - The Philippine Star
February 8, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon committee report on the government’s flood control projects is set to undergo significant scrutiny and revisions on the plenary floor, after the majority bloc expressed dissatisfaction with the initial draft, describing it as “lacking.”
Sen. Erwin Tulfo, vice chair of the Blue Ribbon, said he and several colleagues are prepared to sign the draft to allow it to reach the plenary, despite reservations.
However, the senators eventually decided to introduce specific amendments during floor deliberations.
Tulfo disclosed that during a majority caucus, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and committee chair Sen. Panfilo Lacson agreed to open the report to individual amendments, acknowledging concerns that the draft was incomplete.
The senator also revealed that about 11 or 12 members of the majority have expressed intentions to sign but would introduce amendments on the floor.
“We’re saying we’re not happy with the initial draft of the report. We want to make changes and propose individual amendments, which is why it will be brought to the floor,” Tulfo told radio dwIZ in Filipino.
The controversial leaked “draft and unofficial” Blue Ribbon committee report earlier showed the committee recommending plunder and malversation charges against Sens. Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, as well as former senator Bong Revilla, regarding alleged kickbacks from flood control projects.
Lacson previously confirmed the draft also implicated fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co, former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan and several others based on testimonies from former public works engineers.
However, the document failed to secure the necessary 11 signatures for plenary submission after Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian and Sen. JV Ejercito withdrew their support to further study the findings.
The draft also drew scrutiny for excluding former speaker Martin Romualdez despite allegations raised during hearings.
Lacson previously admitted the explosive nature of the report could threaten the Senate leadership, while Sotto slammed the premature leak of the document as “embarrassing.”
Tulfo noted that his legislative staff found the initial draft to be “weak” in its wording and observed that certain individuals involved in the controversy were excluded from the recommendations.
“I will ask why this person is not included and why another is. We have to ask these questions. I have many questions, which is why I have reservations,” he added, referring to his forthcoming interpellation during amendments for the committee report.
‘Enough with the coups’
Tulfo also dismissed rumors that the dissatisfaction with the report fueled the recent leadership coup attempt against Sotto, or that he and his brother, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, had switched sides to support the plot.
He recounted the confusion during the reported ouster attempt, stating that the plotters simply did not have the numbers to declare the Senate presidency vacant.
“They didn’t have the numbers. They should have spoken up on the floor when the session was called to order,” Tulfo said.
He emphasized that constant leadership changes would only distract the chamber from addressing urgent national concerns such as inflation and health care.
“Sen. Raffy and I believe that if we keep changing leaders, priorities will keep shifting. Other countries will laugh at us and ask what’s happening in the Philippines. Then you impeach the President and the Vice President – it’s like we’re a dysfunctional family,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is awaiting the official copy of the Blue Ribbon committee report, saying it could serve as a guide in its ongoing probe into the alleged flood control scam.
DOJ prosecutor general Richard Anthony Fadullon said the report would not automatically serve as the basis for filing charges but could provide “leads” for investigators.
“We want to see the report not because it will be our basis for the filing of cases. Rather, it can be used as bases for the gathering of evidence,” Fadullon said at a press briefing on Friday.
“At best, it may be considered as leads that the department can follow and look into and which we can refer to the NBI for the gathering of evidence,” he added.
Fadullon declined to comment on the personalities named in the leaked draft but said the DOJ panel of prosecutors would examine whatever evidence is cited in the official report.
“If, for example, the committee report says there is this evidence against this particular person, then we can follow that up, we can use it as a basis to investigate further and for the NBI to gather more evidence… But right now, I think it would be premature to make any statement up until the time that we get hold of a copy of the official report,” he said.
At the same briefing, Fadullon and DOJ spokesman Raphael Niccolo Martinez confirmed that three malversation complaints against Senator Villanueva in connection with his alleged involvement in ghost flood control projects in Bulacan have been submitted for resolution by the prosecution panel. — Elizabeth Marcelo
