Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Saturday lauded Sen. Erwin Tulfo for upholding his duty to help disclose the truth behind the anomalies behind defective and ghost flood control projects, and for standing firm against peer pressure to tolerate wrongdoing.
Lacson cited Tulfo’s confirmation in a podcast interview that he signed the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s partial report on the flood control scandal despite pressure from some fellow senators.
“Thank you Sen. Erwin for speaking the truth to confirm what I had thought all along was the real reason – bakit inamag at tuluyan nang napanis ang BRC partial report. Quo vadis, Philippine Senate (Thank you Sen. Erwin for speaking the truth to confirm what I had thought all along was the real reason – why the partial report was left to go stale and become spoiled. Where do you go from here, Philippine Senate)?” Lacson, who chaired the panel when it came out with the partial report, said in a post on X.
In Filipino: Lacson, Pinasalamatan si Sen. Erwin Tulfo sa Pagtataguyod ng Tungkulin sa Paglalantad ng Katotohanan sa Likod ng Flood Control Mess
“HAYAAN MO NA SI PING… IBA ANG TAKBO NG UTAK NUN.” I agree — What is right must be kept right; what is wrong must be set right.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) June 13, 2026
Tulfo, who was elected Blue Ribbon Committee chairman after a leadership change last June 3, said in an interview with broadcast journalist Jessica Soho that some of his colleagues got angry with him for signing the report. Tulfo was the panel’s vice chairman at the time.
He recalled some of his colleagues tried to discourage him from signing the partial report because “kasama natin kawawa (some of our colleagues would be put on the spot).”
But he replied, “hindi ko naman pwedeng ipikit-pikit (I cannot just close my eyes)” and signed the report, even if he intended to raise questions about the report’s contents in plenary.
Lacson earlier pointed out that had the report secured at least nine signatures, he would sponsor it on the floor where it can be debated upon, amended and eventually adopted.
“Sabi ko, nakakahiya sa tao (I said it would be a shame to erstwhile Blue Ribbon Chairman Sen. Lacson),” Tulfo said, adding that his brother, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, along with Lacson and four other senators, also signed the report.
While the seven signatures still fell short of the nine needed for Lacson to sponsor the partial report in plenary, the contents of the partial report became part of the Senate’s official records after Lacson presented his Chairman’s Progress Report in a privilege speech last May 5.
In his privilege speech, Lacson presented key evidence and policy recommendations drawn from the panel’s hearings to end the “systematic and parasitic greed” behind anomalous flood control projects.
Also, Lacson submitted all the pieces of evidence gathered in the course of the eight hearings to the Office of the Ombudsman to help them in their ongoing preliminary investigation of some personalities linked to the flood control mess, now that the evidence is part of the official Senate records.
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Lacson, Pinasalamatan si Sen. Erwin Tulfo sa Pagtataguyod ng Tungkulin sa Paglalantad ng Katotohanan sa Likod ng Flood Control Mess
Pinuri ni Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Sabado si Sen. Erwin Tulfo sa pagtaguyod nito sa kanyang tungkulin na tumulong sa paglalantad ng katotohanan sa likod ng mga anomalya sa mga palpak at guniguning flood control projects, at sa matatag nitong paninindigan laban sa “peer pressure” para palagpasin ang maling gawain.
Ipinunto ni Lacson ang pahayag ni Tulfo sa isang podcast interview na nilagdaan nito ang partial report ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hinggil sa iskandalo sa flood control sa kabila ng umano’y peer pressure mula sa ilang kapwa senador.
“Thank you Sen Erwin for speaking the truth to confirm what I had thought all along was the real reason – bakit inamag at tuluyan nang napanis ang BRC partial report. Quo vadis, Philippine Senate?” pahayag ni Lacson, na siyang namuno sa panel nang ilabas ang partial report, sa isang post sa X.
Sinabi ni Tulfo, na nahalal bilang chairman ng Blue Ribbon Committee matapos ang pagbabago sa liderato noong Hunyo 3, sa panayam ng broadcast journalist na si Jessica Soho na nagalit ang ilang kasamahan niya sa Senado dahil sa paglagda niya sa report. Nagsilbi siyang vice chairman ng komite noong panahong iyon.
Aniya, sinubukan siyang pigilan ng ilang kapwa senador sa paglagda sa partial report dahil “kasama natin ang mapapahiya.”
Ngunit tugon niya, “Hindi ko naman pwedeng ipikit ang mata ko,” kung kaya’t nilagdaan pa rin niya ang partial report, kahit balak pa niyang kuwestiyunin ang nilalaman nito sa plenaryo.
Nauna nang sinabi ni Lacson na kung nakakuha ng hindi bababa sa siyam na lagda ang report, i-sponsor niya ito sa plenaryo upang mapagdebatehan, mabago, at posibleng maaprubahan.
“Sabi ko, nakakahiya sa tao,” ani Tulfo, na tumutukoy kay Lacson. Dagdag niya, ang kapatid niyang si Sen. Raffy Tulfo, kasama sina Lacson at apat pang senador, ay lumagda rin sa report.
Bagama’t hindi umabot ang pitong lagda sa siyam na kinakailangan upang ma-sponsor ni Lacson ang partial report sa plenaryo, ang nilalaman nito ay naging bahagi ng opisyal na talaan ng Senado matapos ihain ni Lacson ang kanyang Chairman’s Progress Report sa isang privilege speech noong Mayo 5.
Sa naturang talumpati, inilatag ni Lacson ang mahahalagang ebidensya at mga rekomendasyon sa polisiya mula sa mga pagdinig ng komite upang wakasan ang tinawag niyang “sistematikong at parasitikong kasakiman” sa likod ng mga anomalya sa flood control projects.
Gayundin, isinumite ni Lacson sa Office of the Ombudsman ang lahat ng ebidensyang nakalap sa loob ng walong pagdinig upang makatulong sa kanilang isinasagawang preliminary investigation sa ilang personalidad na sangkot sa isyu ng flood control, ngayo’y opisyal nang bahagi ng record ng Senado ang mga ito.
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