The Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations of the

Senate of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives as ...

, or more popularly known as the Blue Ribbon Committee, is the

Senate committee This is a complete list of U.S. congressional committees ( standing committees and select or special committees) that are operating in the United States Senate. Senators can be a member of more than one committee. Standing committees , there a ...

tasked to investigate alleged wrongdoings of the government, its officials, and its attached agencies, including government owned and controlled corporations, in aid of legislation, that is, the primary purpose is the suggestion of new laws, or proposals of amendments to existing laws.

History

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

Representative

Justiniano Montano Justiniano Solis Montano Sr. (September 5, 1905 – March 31, 2005) was a Filipino politician who was elected for one term to the Philippine Senate and for multiple terms as a member of the House of Representatives. Background Montano was born i ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, who was successfully included in the Liberal's 1949 Senate election ticket, supported Jose T. Cajulis of the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...

in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

seat he was retiring from. While the Liberals' candidate easily defeated Cajulis, Montano won in the Senate election; he formed a clique called "The Little Senate" with like-minded Liberal senators and began to attack President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino enter ...

(who was also from the Liberal Party)'s presidency. Montano then created the Blue Ribbon Committee, taking the name from other blue ribbon committees, with the mandate to investigate alleged irregularities from the executive branch. Thereafter, the Blue Ribbon Committee has become the most powerful Congressional committee, investigating alleged criminal misconduct by government officials in aid of legislation. However, the committee cannot incarcerate witnesses and resource persons, except in cases of

contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...

. However, the Senate has adopted rules to limit the abuse of this power. These include that all investigations should be "in aid of legislation", the right against

self-incrimination In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another ersonin a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof". (Self-incrimination ...

should not be violated, the

right to counsel In criminal law, the right to counsel means a defendant has a legal right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant's legal exp ...

should be respected, rules of procedures should be published and persons concerned should be informed of the rules, and the investigation shall serve a not serve as member's personal aggrandizement.

Controversies and scandals investigated

Under the

presidency of Fidel V. Ramos The presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, also known as the Ramos administration spanned for six years from June 30, 1992, to June 30, 1998. Ramos is the first Protestant president of the country, and the first Christian Democrat to be elected, being th ...

: * PEA Amari scam (1995) Under the

presidency of Joseph Estrada The presidency of Joseph Estrada, also known as the Estrada administration, spanned 31 months from June 30, 1998, to January 20, 2001. Estrada was elected president of the Philippines in the May 11, 1998 national elections, receiving almost 11 ...

: *

Expo Filipino Philippine Centennial International Exposition 1998, also known as Expo Pilipino, was a world fair organized as part of the 100th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898. The event which featured Philippine his ...

scam (1998) * Juetengate scandal (2000) Under the

presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo The presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, also known as the Arroyo administration, spanned nine years from January 20, 2001, to June 30, 2010. She served the remainder of her predecessor Joseph Estrada's term after he was deposed, and she ...

: * PIATCO NAIA Terminal 3 scam (2002) *

Macapagal Boulevard Macapagal Boulevard, also known as President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard and Macapagal Avenue, is an eight-lane road in Metro Manila, Philippines, running parallel to Roxas Boulevard from the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pas ...

scam (2003) *

Fertilizer Fund scam The Fertilizer Fund scam is a Philippine political controversy involving accusations that Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante diverted ₱728 million in fertilizer funds to the 2004 election campaign of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. ...

(2004) *

Hello Garci scandal The Hello Garci scandal (or just Hello Garci), also known as Gloriagate, was a political scandal and electoral crisis in the Philippines. The scandal involved former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who allegedly rigged the 2004 national el ...

(2005) *

NBN–ZTE deal corruption scandal The Philippine National Broadband Network controversy (also referred to as the NBN–ZTE deal or NBN–ZTE mess) involved allegations of corruption in the awarding of a US$329 million construction contract to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE ...

(2007) *

Euro Generals scandal The Euro Generals Scandal involves Eliseo de la Paz and several Philippine National Police (PNP) officials who went to Russia in October 2008 to attend an Interpol conference. De la Paz was detained for carrying a large sum of undeclared money. De ...

(2008) Under the

presidency of Benigno Aquino III The presidency of Benigno Aquino III began on June 30, 2010, when he became the 15th president of the Philippines, succeeding Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. His term ended on June 30, 2016. Aquino, the third-youngest person elected president, is th ...

: * 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal (2011) *

Priority Development Assistance Fund scam The Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, also called the PDAF scam or the pork barrel scam, is a political scandal involving the alleged misuse by several members of the Congress of the Philippines of their Priority Development Assistance ...

(2013) * Jejomar Binay's alleged corruption (2014–2015) *

Bangladesh Bank robbery The Bangladesh Bank robbery, also known colloquially as the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist, was a theft that took place in February 2016. Thirty-five fraudulent instructions were issued by security hackers via the SWIFT network to illegally tra ...

(2016) During the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte: * 2016 Bureau of Immigration bribery scandal (2016) * 2017 Bureau of Customs drug smuggling scandal (2017) *

Dengvaxia controversy The Dengvaxia controversy () occurred in the Philippines when the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia was found to increase the risk of disease severity for some people who had received it. A vaccination program run by the Philippine Department of Health ...

(2017) * DOT– PTV tourism advertisement controversy (2018) * 2018 Bureau of Customs drug smuggling scandal (2018) * Good Conduct Time Allowance and Ninja cops controversies (2019) *

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines. It is a tax-exempt, government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) of the Philippines, and is attached to ...

corruption scandals (2020–21) * Pharmally contract deal controversy (2021–22) During the

presidency of Bongbong Marcos The presidency of Bongbong Marcos began at noon on June 30, 2022, following his inauguration as the 17th president of the Philippines, succeeding Rodrigo Duterte. His term is expected to end six years later, on June 30, 2028. Bongbong Ma ...

: * 2022 Philippine sugar crisis (2022-ongoing)

Membership

Like all other committees, the Senate elects members of the Blue Ribbon Committee. The chairmanship of the committee has been one of the most sought posts in the Senate, aside from the Senate Presidency.

Current members

Members as of August 25, 2022: *Chairperson:

Francis Tolentino Francis N Tolentino (; is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as a Senator since 2019. He served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) from 2010 to 2015 and was the Mayor of Tagaytay from 1995 to 2004. For ...

*Vice chairpersons: **

Ronald Dela Rosa Ronald Marapon dela Rosa (born January 21, 1962), also known as Bato, is a Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one ...

Bong Go Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Tesoro Go (; born June 14, 1974) is a Filipino politician serving as a Senator since 2019. He previously served in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte as Special Assistant to the President and Head of the Presi ...

Alan Peter Cayetano Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano (Tagalog pronunciation: ajɛˈtano born October 28, 1970) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 20 ...

*Members: **From the majority: ***

Sonny Angara Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

***

Pia Cayetano Pilar Juliana Schramm Cayetano KGCR (born March 22, 1966), known as Pia Cayetano, is a Filipina politician and lawyer serving as a Senator since 2019, a position she previously held from 2004 to 2016. She was also the Representative of Tagu ...

***

JV Ejercito Joseph Victor Gomez Ejercito (; born December 26, 1969), also known as JV Ejercito Estrada or simply JV Ejercito, is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2013 to 2019. He had also served as t ...

***

Jinggoy Estrada Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr. (; born February 17, 1963), also known as Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada or simply Jinggoy Estrada, is a Filipino politician, film actor, and producer serving as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He ...

***

Win Gatchalian Sherwin Ting Gatchalian (born April 6, 1974), known as Win Gatchalian, is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2016. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), he previously served as the Representative of ...

***

Lito Lapid Manuel "Lito" Mercado Lapid (; born October 25, 1955) is a Filipino actor and politician serving as a Senator since 2019, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He started his political career in Pampanga, serving as vice governor from 1992 to 1995 ...

***

Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipina politician and former actress serving as a Senator since 2019. She is the daughter of Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos and the ol ...

***

Robin Padilla Robinhood Ferdinand Cariño Padilla (; born November 23, 1969), known professionally as Robin Padilla, is a Filipino politician, television personality, martial artist, actor and director currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines since ...

***

Grace Poe Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares (baptized September 3, 1968) is a Filipino politician, businesswoman, educator, and philanthropist serving as a senator since 2013. She was the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Class ...

***

Bong Revilla Ramon Bautista Bong Revilla Jr. (; born Jose Mari Bautista; September 25, 1966) and commonly known as Bong Revilla, is a Filipino actor, television presenter and politician serving as a Senator since 2019, and previously from 2004 to 2016. The ...

***

Raffy Tulfo Raffy is a given name and a nickname. It may refer to: *Rafael Palmeiro (born 1964), Cuban former Major League Baseball player *Ken Raffensberger (1917–2002), American Major League Baseball pitcher *Raffaella Rossi (born 1974), Italian ski mounta ...

***

Mark Villar Mark Aguilar Villar (, born August 14, 1978) is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2022. He served in President Rodrigo Duterte's cabinet as the Secretary of Public Works and Highways from 2016 to 2021, and was the ...

**From the minority: ***

Risa Hontiveros Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel (; born February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist who has been serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representa ...

**''

Ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' members: ***Senate President ''pro tempore''

Loren Legarda Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipina politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippin ...

***Majority Leader

Joel Villanueva Emmanuel Joel Jose Villanueva (, born August 2, 1975), nicknamed "Tesdaman", is a Filipino politician serving as the Senate Majority Leader since 2022 and has been a Senator since 2016. He previously served as the Director General of the Techn ...

***Minority Leader

Koko Pimentel Aquilino Martin de la Llana Pimentel III (born January 20, 1964), commonly known as Koko Pimentel, is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as the Senate Minority Leader since 2022. He has been a Senator since 2011 and previously served as ...

Previous chairs

* 11th Congress:

Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (, December 11, 1933 – October 20, 2019), commonly known as Nene Pimentel, was a Filipino politician and human rights lawyer who was one of the leading political opposition leaders during the regime of Ferdinan ...

* 12th Congress:

Joker Arroyo Ceferino "Joker" Paz Arroyo Jr. (January 5, 1927 – October 5, 2015) was a Filipino statesman and key figure in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution which ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He was a Congressman for Makati from 1992 to 2001 and ...

* 13th Congress:

* 14th Congress:

(2007–2009),

Richard J. Gordon Richard Juico Gordon (born August 5, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who most recently served as a Senate of the Philippines, Senator from 2016 to 2022, and previously from 2004 to 2010. He is the chairman and CEO of the Philippine R ...

(2009–2010) * 15th Congress: TG Guingona * 16th Congress: TG Guingona * 17th Congress:

* 18th Congress:

History

Controversies and scandals investigated

Membership

Current members

Previous chairs

References

See also