‘… we can expect major changes in the way the Senate Blue Ribbon panel is run, and hopefully this will help craft some productive legislation.’
FOR several years, the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, which is popularly known as the Blue Ribbon Committee, has been the venue of high-profile probes that accomplished little in terms of legislative output.
This happened because the committee’s former chairman had the propensity for grandstanding and media presence, and let us accept it, it looks good on TV and it ramps up a senator’s image of power if there is some badgering and verbal shoving in dealing with resource persons who are being probed.
This is one reason former President Rodrigo Duterte had oftentimes clashed with the Richard Gordon-led Blue Ribbon Committee, especially during the long-running Pharmally investigation in the 18th Congress. Speaking of this probe, it would not have come to naught with 11 out of 21 senators refusing to sign the semi-final committee report if the former chair had been less rough.
The Blue Ribbon panel this 19th Congress is led by the more diplomatic but judiciously firm Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino, a lawyer with years of practice here and in the US, and most importantly, enjoys the trust and confidence of most of his colleagues in the Senate.
Under Tolentino, the committee will change its communication policy and have the results of its investigations “read out” at the concluding hearing, similar to how courts publicly disclose their decisions.
The “dispositive portion” of the committee report – summarizing the findings and proposed course of action – will be announced in the presence of the officials who were investigated, especially if they are being recommended for criminal prosecution. This would give the issue formal “closure” as the committee winds up the inquiry, similar to how court trials are concluded.
“Whenever possible, on the last hearing, the dispositive portion and the recommendations of the committee report will be read out by the general counsel in front of all resource persons, the media and the general public,” Tolentino explained.
The committee has also hired former deputy ombudsmen Gerard Mosquera and Melchor Arthur Carandang as general counsel and legal consultant, respectively.
Under Senator Tolentino’s watch, we can expect major changes in the way the Senate Blue Ribbon panel is run, and hopefully this will help craft some productive legislation.