Tulfo slams false info on blue ribbon meet

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Erwin Tulfo on Monday rejected as “misinformation” the announcement by former Rep. Mike Defensor about a supposed flood control hearing set outside the Senate on Tuesday.

Tulfo, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said in a statement bearing the official logo of his panel that no hearing has been scheduled for June 16.

“The Committee wishes to clarify that the recent announcements made by former Congressman Mike Defensor regarding an alleged hearing on said date were made without the authority, and approval of the Committee. Accordingly, the Committee categorically rejects the misinformation being circulated online,” said the elected chair of the Senate panel under the new majority bloc led by acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

Article continues after this advertisement

Tulfo stressed that legislative proceedings must strictly adhere to established protocols, adding that under the Rules of the Senate, a formal three-day notice and agenda distribution are mandatory prior to any committee hearing.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

“The purported June 16 hearing completely bypasses this institutional requirement, rendering it illegitimate,” he said.

READ: Mike Defensor ‘no-show’ at NBI, calls subpoena ‘harassment’

Tulfo pointed out further that Defensor is not a member of the Senate, let alone of the committee.

“Consequently, he is not privy to the official investigations of this body. He possesses no legal standing to announce any proceeding on behalf of the Senate,” the senator said.

Article continues after this advertisement

‘No legal standing’

“The Blue Ribbon Committee will not permit its name and institutional integrity to be misrepresented or utilized for unauthorized disclosures. The public is urged to rely exclusively on the official announcements and advisories from the Blue Ribbon Committee and/or Senate of the Philippines,” he added.

READ: Defensor camp mulls rap vs Matibag if NBI keeps issuing subpoenas

Article continues after this advertisement

Gatchalian, in a separate statement, said the Senate would not recognize any hearing or investigation conducted outside of the duly constituted blue ribbon committee chaired by Tulfo, dismissing any parallel proceedings as carrying no legal weight or institutional authority.

“The Senate recognizes only one Blue Ribbon Committee, the one headed by Sen. Erwin Tulfo. Any hearing or investigation conducted outside of this Committee has no legal standing, carries no institutional authority, and will not be recognized by the Senate,” Gatchalian said.

He said the work of exposing corruption and holding wrongdoers accountable is “serious business and deserves a proper, legitimate, and duly constituted forum.”

In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Defensor called on the public to join and support a supposed blue ribbon committee hearing that will be held in an events place outside the Senate on June 16.

He also urged the public to support the 18 men who claimed to have served as security aides and “bagmen” of former Rep. Zaldy Co, delivering suitcases of cash to several government officials.

On June 4, the bloc led by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano conducted a hearing on the flood control scandal as presided over by his sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, the blue ribbon committee chair before Cayetano was ousted as Senate President by the Gatchalian bloc.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

But the hearing, where the 18 confessed bagmen appeared as resource persons, was suspended indefinitely. /cb