WITH VIDEO | Lacson Will Return To Blue Ribbon ‘100%’ – Sotto

Sen. Panfilo Lacson will reassume chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon committee to resume his flood control inquiry, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

“Lacson will return as Blue Ribbon chair, 100 percent,” Sotto told “One Balita Pilipinas” on One PH.

Due to public clamor, Sotto said Lacson changed his mind about his resignation.

“He still has unfinished business. The clamor for him to return, both by the public and our colleagues in the Senate, has apparently reached him. At this point, I think it’s a yes,” he added.

Lacson will return to complement the probes initiated by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and Department of Justice, Sotto said.

A Senate caucus will be held after the Undas break to finalize Lacson’s return when session resumes on Nov. 10, he noted.

In his Oct. 7 resignation letter, Lacson said some of his colleagues were disappointed with the inquiry, which implicated senators and House lawmakers in alleged kickbacks in ghost or substandard flood control projects.

State officials, contractors and engineers have been implicated in anomalous infrastructure deals and budget insertions.

Earlier, Lacson said he was open to reassume chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon committee but some majority senators might jump to the Cayetano-led minority bloc if he returns.

“I have discussed this scenario with Senate President Vicente Sotto III when he broached the idea of giving back the chairmanship to me – that if I am elected again to head the panel, we should be ready for consequences and decisions, including losing some members of the majority bloc and consequently, his Senate presidency,” he said.

Lacson had resigned after some senators blocked his line of inquiry during the flood control probe.

Reflecting on the circumstances surrounding his departure, Lacson said, “In retrospect, a simple, practical question crossed my mind when I decided to resign on Oct. 6: What chairmanship are we talking about if we lose the majority to the current Cayetano-led minority bloc?” the Senate president pro tempore said.

If Lacson accepts the chairmanship again, he said the question of majority alignment “will no longer be a factor.”

State officials, contractors and engineers have been implicated in anomalous infrastructure deals nationwide.

Thirty-four business groups have urged the government to empower the Independent Commission for Infrastructure as it probes the flood control controversy.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla told “Storycon” on One News earlier that one year is more than enough to secure convictions.

‘Leave minority out of it’

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said Lacson should leave the minority out of his decision to step down, saying they did not create “drama, intrigue or blame” when they were booted out of their chairmanships when Sotto replaced Sen. Francis Escudero.

“If the majority is having a disagreement, it’s fine – politics will always have its share of drama. But let’s not turn the Senate into a teleserye,” Cayetano said.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon earlier described Lacson’s resignation as a “king’s gambit” meant to preserve Sotto’s leadership amid signs of instability within the majority bloc.