Flood Control Probe to Resume After Congress Opens

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Erwin Tulfo yesterday said the Blue Ribbon panel, which he chairs, will resume its investigation into alleged anomalies in flood control projects once it is formally reconstituted when Congress resumes session on July 27. Tulfo said the committee could not hold hearings until its membership is finalized on the opening day of the new session. “On the morning of July 27, which is the day of the SONA (State of the Nation Address), we will formally organize the Blue Ribbon committee. We cannot conduct hearings yet because the committee membership has to be finalized first,” he said in an interview over dzBB. Tulfo said the panel would continue its inquiry into the alleged flood control scam but would focus on new leads. “We will continue the investigation, but if the names that come up are the same people already charged by the ombudsman based on the Blue Ribbon committee’s first report, should we just repeat the process? There should be new names,” he said. Tulfo said the committee would also adopt new procedures, including stricter screening of affidavits and prohibiting surprise witnesses, once it is officially organized. Beyond the investigation, the senator renewed his call for the passage of his proposed Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development Act, saying a long-term national infrastructure plan would help prevent corruption by removing politics from project selection. “The flood control scam has become a blessing in disguise because it exposed why flooding and road problems persist. Funds are being pocketed,” he said. His bill seeks to establish a whole-of-government strategy for infrastructure development by integrating major and local projects into a single national framework and aligning them with regional and sectoral development plans. Meanwhile, Tulfo shrugged off Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s recent social media posts targeting him. “I’m amused by Sen. Alan Cayetano’s posts. He can keep talking if he wants. It’s his right to keep posting on Facebook if that’s his hobby,” Tulfo said. He was responding to Cayetano’s remarks on social media, where the senator referred to Tulfo as a “bata” (protégé), after previously calling him a “tuta” (lapdog). Tulfo also rejected Cayetano’s allegation that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee was abandoning its planned investigation into the multibillion-peso flood control controversy.