Lacson Thanks Sen. Erwin Tulfo for Upholding Duty over Peer Pressure in Disclosing Truth behind Flood Control Mess

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

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Lacson: New Senate Leadership to Address Plight of 29 AFP, 86 Foreign Service Officers Whose Confirmations were Delayed

Resolving the plight of 29 Armed Forces of the Philippines generals as well as 86 foreign service officers whose confirmations were stalled due to the recently ended Senate leadership gridlock will be one of the priorities of the new Senate leadership, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said late Wednesday.

Lacson said the leadership under Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian is exploring various measures, including asking Malacanang for an ad interim appointment for the affected officers, and a special session to let the Commission on Appointments confirm these.

“Naaawa kami una sa nakabinbin na confirmation na AFP officers. Kawawa sila kasi ang kanilang nomination was made when Congress was in session. Kanina lang kami nag adjourn sine die (We sympathize with the stalled confirmation of the AFP officers whose nominations were made when Congress was still in session; we just adjourned sine die this afternoon),” he said.

“Alang alang sa magigiting nating opisyal, hihiling kami sa pangulo kung pwedeng tumawag ng special session para ma-convene ang CA (For our fine officers, we will ask the President for a special session to convene the CA so their plight will be addressed),” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Bagong Liderato ng Senado, Tututukan ang Kalagayan ng 29 AFP, 86 Foreign Service Officers na Naantala ang Kanilang Confirmations

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Lacson: With Cayetano No Longer Senate President, Time for Senate to Go Back to Work

Now that Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer Senate President and the chamber’s top post is temporarily vacant following Wednesday’s leadership change, it is time for the Senate to get back to work, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said.

Lacson said a quorum of 12 out of 22 senators was declared as Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada were outside the Senate’s “coercive power,” allowing the chamber to elect Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President.

“Sen. Cayetano is no longer SP. With 12 senators present, a quorum was declared out of the base number of 22 since Sens. de la Rosa and Estrada are outside the “coercive power” of the Senate (Avelino v Cuenco. GR No 2821),” he said on X.

“Hence, we voted to declare all positions vacant, although we could not yet elect a new Senate President because we lacked the 13 votes required under the Constitution,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Ngayong Hindi na Senate President si Cayetano, Panahon Nang Magbalik-Trabaho ang Senado

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Lacson: Citing Foreign Conflicts as ‘Force Majeure’ to Justify Remote Voting an ‘Unforced Error’

Including foreign conflicts under “force majeure” to justify remote participation and voting in Senate proceedings would be an “unforced error,” Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Thursday.

Lacson referred to a social media post by Sen. Robinhood Padilla, who asked if war in the Middle East and the conflict between China and Taiwan were not force majeure.

“Hindi po ito ‘force majeure’. Iyan po ay ‘UNFORCED ERROR’ (This is not force majeure. This is an unforced error),” Lacson said in a post on X.

In Filipino: Lacson: Pagsama ng Digmaan sa Ibayong Dagat bilang ‘Force Majeure’ para Ma-Justify ang Remote Voting, ‘Unforced Error’

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Lacson Swats Away Panelo’s Prejudgment of Impeachment Trial Votes

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson swatted away as “nonsensical” the prejudgment by ex-presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo on how he and other senators would vote should the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte reach the Senate.

Lacson particularly took issue with Panelo’s claim that he, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, and Senators Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan would vote to convict the Vice President.

“Why is Panelo trying to sound smarter than us? No one can speak on my behalf. And I have said this before – we’ll always be guided by the evidence. We haven’t reached the trial stage, why is he preempting us and calling us ‘pusakal/feral’?” he said in a mix of English and Filipino in an interview on Storycon on One News. “Is he a soothsayer? What if I say he’s a pusakal/feral soothsayer?”

“He isn’t just a feral dog. He’s an idiot,” Lacson said of Panelo.

In Filipino: Lacson, Tinaboy si Panelo sa ‘Prejudgment’ Nito sa Boto sa Impeachment Trial

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