Decency is not a matter of law; it is a matter of conscience.’
THE Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has the country’s attention. It is investigating billions of pesos worth of “ghost” flood control projects that line the budget but not the riversides.
Arrest orders have flown, contractors have been dragged into hearings, and public outrage is cresting.
But something is amiss. Among those leading the probe are senators with ties to the very industry under scrutiny. Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, a vice chair of the committee, has long faced questions about his family’s construction firms, which won billions in government contracts. He insists he has nothing to do with their businesses. That may be true. Yet decency demands that a senator in such a position step aside from inquiries where family interests overlap.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who sets the chamber’s tone, has acknowledged a P30-million campaign donation from a construction magnate whose firm has since won government projects. He says the funds were “personal” money, not corporate. Perhaps. But the spirit of the election law is clear: contractor money and public works don’t mix. Accepting such donations is one thing; presiding over a chamber grilling contractors is another.
Sen. Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, carries his own baggage. The Ombudsman once ordered his dismissal over the alleged misuse of pork funds, a cloud that lingers even if he denies wrongdoing. To now sit in judgment of contractors is a reminder of how the Senate has normalized blurred lines.
Then there is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who sits ex officio on the Blue Ribbon panel. On the very day he was acquitted of plunder in January 2024, he was convicted of bribery. That conviction was later overturned, but the stain remains. To see him lecture witnesses about accountability is to witness irony turned into farce.
The law can argue endlessly about liability, intent, or technical definitions. What the public wants, however, is decency. A Senate that polices itself by the highest ethical standards. A Senate where those with potential conflicts of interest have the humility to step aside from sensitive hearings.
The committee’s mission is too urgent to be compromised. Billions of pesos are being siphoned off from flood-control projects while communities drown. To restore faith in the inquiry, senators must show that their hands are clean and their hearts are for the people.
Decency is not a matter of law; it is a matter of conscience. In this season of floods, the Senate must prove it is not another swamp.
