PROMISES DO MATTER, especially if it comes directly from the President, says Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson, in his capacity as Senate President Pro Tempore and chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, didn’t mince words as he expressed his disappointment over the administration’s failure to fulfill its promise of catching the “big fish” in the flood control corruption scandal before Christmas day.
According to Senator Lacson, “who else will believe in the government if promises were not kept and fulfilled?”
“Some have been jailed, but not those our people want to see behind bars,” the senator pointed out during a radio interview.
“I share the disappointment of the citizens about what’s happening,” he added while noting that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee probe he led had already uncovered damning evidence of corruption.
Lacson said that Christmas day went by with only flood control contractor Sarah Discaya behind bars over the alleged P96.5-million ‘ghost’ flood control project in Davao Occidental.
Sadly, no senator, congressman or Cabinet official have been put behind bars even as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that high-profile suspects perceived to be part of the flood control scandal would “not have a merry Christmas” as they would be jailed soon.
Among the high profile personalities, only resigned Ako Bicol partylist representative Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co has so far been charged before the Sandiganbayan, for which the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest.
Interestingly, the government has yet to arrest Co who has been hiding abroad.
Lacson lamented the slow pace of the investigation that culminated in the untimely passing of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral, who allegedly committed suicide over perceived pressure on her not to tell all.
Lacson disclosed Cabral and her lawyer have approached him to express willingness to testify before the Blue Ribbon committee probe, where he had wanted Cabral to speak about ‘allocables’ or budget ceilings set aside for lawmaker-proponents of flood control projects.
While she did not participate in the investigation, Cabral left Lacson with some of her files, such as a December 27, 2024 special allotment release order for P50 billion in unprogrammed funds, P30 billion of which went to mostly ghost flood control projects.