Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to Resume Flood Control Probe

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Erwin Tulfo on Sunday said the Senate blue ribbon committee will continue its inquiry into the flood control scandal once panel members are finalized after the Senate resumes its session on July 27. According to Tulfo, who chairs the blue ribbon panel, the committee cannot conduct a hearing at the moment as its membership has not been finalized yet. “In the morning of [July] 27, which is the Sona (State of the Nation Address), we will formalize the Blue Ribbon Committee,” said Tulfo in a radio interview, as quoted by his office in a statement. “We cannot conduct a hearing yet because the membership has not yet been finalized,” he explained. “There will still be submissions of names to complete the membership and have it declared on the Senate floor — so it becomes official,” he added. The senator guaranteed that the flood control probe will push through, even stressing that there will be new names of those identified to be involved in the scandal. “We will have a flood control investigation. But what if the same names [of] those who were charged by the Ombudsman due to the first blue ribbon committee Report will come up again? Are we going to repeat it? There have to be new names,” he said. Tulfo intends to introduce stricter rules on the treatment of affidavits and the prohibition on surprise witnesses. Meanwhile, Tulfo in the same statement, underscored the need for a Philippine Infrastructure Masterplan so projects will not rely on politics, thereby preventing another flood control scam. “The flood control scam, being out in the open, can be considered a blessing in disguise. We discovered the reason behind the non-stop flooding problem: our roads. It’s because the funds are being pocketed,” he observed. “For too long, infrastructure planning has largely been tied to the priorities of each administration. If we have a master plan, it doesn’t matter where the next president would be coming from,” he remarked. He then urged his colleagues to support the push for his Senate Bill no. 1360 or the “Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development (MIND) Act.” The bill seeks to establish a whole-of-government strategy for infrastructure projects in the country. Projects with national significance will be prioritized, and they are connected to regional and sectoral development plans.