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NAKATAKDANG bitawan ni Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson ang chairmanship ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee sa gitna ng isinasagawang pagdinig kaugnay ng flood control scandal sa hanay ng mga opisyales ng pamahalaan.
“Since all chairpersons of the Senate committees are elected by our peers, I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues, particularly the members of the majority. Rightly or wrongly, when quite a number of them have expressed disappointment over how I’m handling the flood control project anomalies, I thought it’s time for me to step aside in favor of another member who they think can handle the committee better,” saad sa pahayag ni Lacson.
Gayunpaman, nilinaw ng senador na patuloy ang adbokasiya kontra korapsyon sa kabila pa ng pagbibitiw bilang chairman ng nasabing komite.
“No amount of criticisms from misinformed netizens and partisan sectors can distract or pressure me from doing my job right, but when my own peers start expressing their group or individual sentiments, maybe it is best to vacate. Nevertheless, I will continue to fight a corrupt and rotten system in the misuse and abuse of public funds as I have consistently done in the course of my long years in public service,” dagdag niya.
Inihahanda na aniya ang resignation letter na ihahain sa plenaryo.
Todo-tanggi rin ang mambabatas sa batikos hinggil sa umano’y proteksyon niyang ibinibigay kay dating House Speaker at Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez at dating Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co.
“Kung ako tatanungin, syempre sasabihin ko maayos ang aking paghandle, dangan nga lang laging may gumugulo. Di pa nagsisimula ang pagdinig, pagkatapos ng call to order, may nanggugulo. So doon nagkakaroon ng perception na hindi maganda ang pag-handle,” aniya.
Setyembre 8 nang palitan ni Lacson si Senador Rodante Marcoleta bilang chairman ng komite. (ESTONG REYES)
