THE REPORT NOBODY WANTS TO SIGN

Four out of nine.

That's where the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's partial report stands as of today, March 11, 2026. Four senators have signed. Lacson, Aquino, Hontiveros, Pangilinan. Five more needed before the thing can even touch the Senate floor.

Seven months since the first hearing. Over a trillion pesos in alleged flood control anomalies. Ghost projects. Kickbacks. Rigged bids. DPWH engineers singing like canaries under oath. And the best the Philippine Senate can produce is a 400-page document that most of its own committee members won't even bother to read, let alone sign.

Exhausting.

WHAT THE REPORT ACTUALLY SAYS

Here is what's inside the document these senators won't touch.

The partial report recommends preliminary investigation against Senators Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva for plunder, malversation, graft, and violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards. It also names former Senator Bong Revilla, fugitive ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co, former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, former Caloocan Representative Mitch Cajayon-Uy, former Education Undersecretary Trixie Olivar, and Escudero's alleged bagman Maynard Ngu. Former DPWH engineers testified under oath that kickbacks of 25 to 30 percent were standard. Henry Alcantara's affidavit named Estrada and Revilla directly. Roberto Bernardo's testimony connected the money trail to Escudero and all the way to former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

That is what's inside this report. That is what nobody wants to sign.

THE ONES WHO SIGNED HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE

Notice who the four signatories are. Lacson, the committee chair and former PNP chief who has no known financial ties to DPWH contracting. Bam Aquino, who wasn't even in the Senate during the years the flood control racket was in full swing. Risa Hontiveros, the lone progressive who's been calling for accountability since the Pharmally days. Kiko Pangilinan, who's been in the opposition longer than most of these senators have been pretending to care.

Four senators with no baggage. No construction empires. No contractor friends. No DPWH insertions to protect.

Now look at the rest.

THE BIG BOYS' CLUB IN ACTION

The Blue Ribbon Committee has 17 regular members and two ex-officio. Among the ones who haven't signed: Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, who are literally named in the report as respondents. They are being asked to sign a document recommending their own investigation. Mark Villar, whose family's construction interests and Ombudsman probe for flood control-linked contracts are an open secret. Bong Go, whose father was a business partner of the Discaya couple, the contractor pair at the center of this mess, to the tune of 816 million pesos in Davao Region projects. Imee Marcos, the president's sister, who co-authored a minority report with Marcoleta that Lacson called "disrespectful to the committee and the entire Senate". Ronald dela Rosa, a Duterte loyalist. Lito Lapid. Pia Cayetano. Loren Legarda. Raffy Tulfo. Erwin Tulfo.

Then there are the ex-officio members. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who initially signed and then pulled his name back within hours alongside JV Ejercito and Win Gatchalian, saying they "needed more time to review".

You're watching protectionism in real time. The senators who signed are the ones with nothing to lose. The senators who won't sign are either named in the report, connected to the people named in the report, allied with the people named in the report, or afraid of the people named in the report. That's the entire committee. That's your accountability mechanism. A body where the accused sit in judgment of themselves and the compromised are asked to police the corrupt.

They will not sign their own death warrant.

THE MARCOLETA IRONY

And then there's Rodante Marcoleta. The man who chaired this very committee from August to September 2025. Who led the early hearings. Who submitted names to the DOJ for immigration lookout orders. He delivered a privilege speech on March 9 demanding accountability, asking why the report was taking so long, saying over a trillion pesos was "openly looted" and nobody was being held responsible except the small fry.

Powerful words. Righteous anger. Standing ovation material.

Except he won't sign the report either.

His excuse? The chairman hadn't signed it first. Lacson's response was surgical: twenty copies were circulated, the physical signature page was sitting in his office the whole time, and Marcoleta's staff had been told exactly where to find it. Marcoleta knew. He chose not to.

So here's a former committee chair who gave a privilege speech about accountability, who questioned why certain witnesses were never summoned, who accused Lacson of shielding Romualdez, and who still refuses to put his name on the one document that could actually move this thing forward. He demands speed. He demands transparency. He demands names. And when the document with the names is placed on his desk, his pen stays in his pocket. That's a show. And Marcoleta knows exactly what he's doing.

THE PROCESS AS ALIBI

Lacson's office sent a letter to the Manila Times on March 10 defending the delay. The argument? Senate rules require nine signatures. Internal processes are protected by "legislative privilege" and "deliberative process privilege".

Technically, they're right. And that's the whole problem. Because procedure, in the hands of politicians, becomes the reason nothing ever gets done.

Meanwhile, the House killed both impeachment complaints against Marcos in February. 284 lawmakers voted to dismiss. Eight voted to proceed. A constitutional bar now prevents any new impeachment complaint for an entire year.

The Senate can't finalize its own report. The House buried the impeachment angle. The Ombudsman says he'll work with whatever he gets. The DOJ is waiting for evidence that may or may not come from a committee that may or may not ever produce a final document.

The senators who won't sign aren't breaking any laws. They're just not doing anything. And in Philippine politics, inaction is the most powerful form of protection. You don't have to obstruct. You just have to wait. Delay. Review. Request more time. Eventually the news cycle moves on. Eventually the public gets tired.

That's the game.