Elija Philip Lutawan
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson stated on Thursday night, after a long public hearing on alleged irregularities in flood control projects, that Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada have not been cleared of accusations despite facing their accuser.
According to Lacson, the complaint filed by former Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez may have been based on “selective memory,” but this does not mean the senators are free of responsibility.
“By any standard, Senators Villanueva and Estrada are not cleared of the allegations involving budget insertions for infrastructure projects in Bulacan worth ₱600 million and ₱355 million, respectively, as claimed by Engineer Brice Hernandez,” Lacson wrote on X.
At the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Lacson revealed that ₱600 million supposedly allocated for flood control projects in Bulacan was found under the Unprogrammed Fund in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Hernandez had earlier tied this amount to Villanueva, who consistently denied the accusation. Lacson said the figure was based on budget documents submitted by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
He added that the ₱600 million consisted of seven to eight projects worth ₱75 million each. Still, Lacson rebuked Hernandez for failing to respond to other questions, saying he was being selective with his answers.
“You cannot be selective. If you take an oath to tell the truth, you should state the whole truth, not just what is convenient,” Lacson told Hernandez.
Lacson disclosed that his office found ₱355 million worth of infrastructure projects in Bulacan listed under the 2025 GAA, which Hernandez had linked to Estrada. Estrada, however, denied the claim.
He explained that he permitted the two senators to join the Blue Ribbon hearing, emphasizing that it is their basic right to face their accuser.
“It is a person’s basic right to face their accuser. If you noticed, I did not absolve the two senators from the budget insertion issue, because budget records support Hernandez’s claims, at least in Estrada’s case, according to my staff’s research,” Lacson said in another X post.
He added that he consulted his legal team before allowing the senators’ participation. “Every individual, whether an ordinary citizen or a senator, has equal rights. On the other hand, the allegations of budget insertions in the 2023 and 2025 GAAs still stand. I made that clear today,” he stressed.
