LACSON: BLUE RIBBON DOOR NOT CLOSED TO 18 EEX-MARINES,’ BUT AFFIDAVITS MUST REFLECT REALITY

THE Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is not closing its doors to the 18 “ex-Marines” who claimed delivering kickbacks to certain personalities – so long as their testimonies will reflect reality, Senate President Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon panel Chairman Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Friday.

Lacson said that had the testimonies of the 18 fallen within the “realm of possibilities,” the Committee would have long invited them and listened to what they had to say.

“While the Blue Ribbon Committee’s doors are not closed to them, they just need to correct their statements so the hearing does not turn into a circus,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino, in an interview on DZBB radio.

Lacson said that while it cannot be denied that cash deliveries were made to certain beneficiaries in connection with alleged kickbacks from flood control projects, parts of the initial claims of the 18 appeared outside the realm of possibility – including the P805 billion in total cash deliveries.

Earlier, Lacson had pointed out not only the “impossibility” of involving such a massive amount, but also the logistical nightmare of handling the money and actually delivering them.

He said he already urged lawyer Levito Baligod, who presented the 18 at a press conference at the Club Filipino last Feb. 24, to take the needed steps.

“They must think about it carefully. They can retract their initial statements and say they overlooked some details. The important thing is to bring their statements closer to reality so that the Blue Ribbon Committee will not be entertaining lies,” he said.

“Just correct your affidavits and bring them closer to the truth, and I’ll call a hearing,” he added. “For now it is clear that parts of their statements are impossible, such as the P805 billion, which insults Filipinos’ intelligence.”

Lacson reiterated the Blue Ribbon Committee’s intention is to expose the truth and not to expose lies, even as he reiterated that “we will go where the evidence leads us.”

“I maintain my position that we go where the evidence leads us. That will not change. Could there be stronger proof of this than the investigation having already implicated my fellow senators? That is why I cannot accept accusations that I am protecting personalities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lacson said the Blue Ribbon Committee’s partial committee report still needs five signatures before it can be filed. He said he plans to convince more members of the majority bloc to sign it.