Senate to invite Romualdez, 17 other congressmen to flood control probe

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will invite former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and 17 other members of the House of Representatives at the continuation of the panel's inquiry into the anomalous flood control projects.

- BY HANNAH L. TORREGOZA

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson confirmed this on Tuesday, Nov. 11, saying he will send the invitation, addressed to current House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy, once he is formally elected again as the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

"After the election this afternoon, we'll buckle down to work, then we will start sending invitations, through the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives," Lacson told reporters in an interview after the launching of the new Senate website. "We'll invite him (Romualdez), plus the 17 congressmen mentioned by the Discaya couple, including Cong. Eric Yap," he said.

In a sworn statement, the Discaya couple-contractors Curlee and Sarahhad named 17 congressmen and several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials who allegedly demanded kickbacks of 10 to 25 percent for awarding flood control projects.

According to the couple, these demands were laid out after their company won bids and they were pressured to pay for projects to proceed without delays.

Because of this, the blue ribbon panel vowed to summon the congressmen mentioned by the Discayas.