Lacson to resign as Blue Ribbon committee chairperson

Philippine News Agency

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is stepping down as chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee. (Ping Lacson/facebook)

MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is stepping down as chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee, saying some of his colleagues are disappointed with the investigation into anomalous flood control projects.

Nevertheless, he will continue to fight “a corrupt and rotten system in the misuse and abuse of public funds,” according to a news release from his office Sunday.

He said no amount of criticism from “misinformed netizens and partisan sectors” can distract or pressure him from doing his job right. However, when his own peers started expressing their sentiments, he decided it would be best to vacate the post.

“Since all chairpersons of the Senate committees are elected by our peers, I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues, particularly the members of the majority,” he said.

“Rightly or wrongly, when quite a number of them have expressed disappointment over how I’m handling the flood control project anomalies, I thought it’s time for me to step aside in favor of another member who they think can handle the committee better.”

Lacson said he is preparing his resignation letter and will formally manifest it in plenary, he told DZBB radio.

He also slammed the “fake news and false narratives,” including claims that he is targeting some fellow senators while protecting members of the House of Representatives.

On Sept. 30, he said in an interview that he would invite resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy Co and former speaker Martin Romualdez to the next Blue Ribbon hearing to dispel perceptions that the committee is shielding certain personalities.

“If you ask me, I would say I handled the hearings well. But there are those trying to disrupt the hearings. In one instance, the hearing had barely started when someone tried to make a distraction. That is why there is a perception that the hearings were not handled well,” Lacson said.