Erwin Tulfo is acting blue ribbon chairperson

Metro Manila, Philippines - Senator Erwin Tulfo is acting chairman of the blue ribbon committee, replacing Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, who resigned from the powerful panel investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on Wednesday, Oct. 8, following a majority caucus.

Sotto explained that Tulfo, currently vice chairperson, becomes acting chairman even without plenary confirmation since none of the five senators previously considered for the post accepted the role.

The five are Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Risa Hontiveros, Kiko Pangilinan, and Raffy Tulfo.

“The majority decided that we make the vice chairman the acting chairman muna [in the meantime]. I called him and he accepted the post,” Sotto said.

“So he will be acting chairman until merong complete meeting ang majority uli. We’re not discounting any of the five names mentioned,” he added.

Sotto said some senators, including Ejercito and Pangilinan, are still appealing to Lacson to reconsider his resignation. Most of them cited their responsibilities as chairpersons of other major committees as reasons for declining the post.

He said the blue ribbon investigation on flood control anomalies will continue. While no date has been set for the seventh hearing, he said the panel will meet once Tulfo returns from a foreign trip next week.

Lacson stepped down as chairman on Monday after some colleagues alleged he was targeting minority senators implicated in the flood control controversy, namely, Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva, while supposedly sparing representatives tagged in previous hearings.

Lacson denied political bias, while the senators also denied receiving kickbacks from the projects.