Senate rift worsens as Lacson quits Senate Blue Ribbon post

National

SENATE President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has resigned as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee following growing dissatisfaction among his colleagues over the panel’s handling of its investigation into alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

Lacson announced his decision on Sunday, Oct. 5, saying he could no longer ignore the “sentiments” of several senators who had expressed disappointment in how the probe was being conducted.

“When quite a number of them have expressed disappointment over how I’m handling the flood control project anomalies, I thought it’s time for me to step aside,” he said in an Inquirer.net report.

The move came amid renewed talk of another Senate shake-up, barely a month after Senator Francis Escudero was replaced by Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

Lacson, however, denied rumors of a looming leadership change, calling them “rehash tactics meant to sow intrigue.”

Senators JV Ejercito and Sherwin Gatchalian were among those who voiced concern about the inquiry’s direction, with Ejercito saying some lawmakers had contemplated leaving the majority bloc over what they viewed as internal discord.

“If this is the direction we’re headed, it’s like we’re burning down our own house,” Ejercito said.

Tensions also flared between Lacson and Senator Imee Marcos, who reportedly left the Senate’s group chat after Lacson urged her to attend hearings on the flood control issue.

Despite the rifts, Lacson maintained that he would continue his anti-corruption advocacy, saying his resignation “will not stop [him] from fighting a corrupt and rotten system.”

Lacson’s leadership of the blue ribbon committee has been under scrutiny since he disclosed that nearly all senators had made “individual insertions” worth at least P100 billion in the 2025 national budget.

Lacson clarified that his statement was not meant to attack fellow senators but to highlight systemic misuse of public funds.

He reiterated that committee chairs serve “at the pleasure of their peers,” not the President or the public, and said he had already begun preparing his resignation letter to Senate President Sotto.

“If the majority is no longer happy with my leadership, then I will step aside,” Lacson said.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)