DoJ case sought vs Senate witness

A CONGRESSMAN on Wednesday urged the Department of Justice (DoJ) to file charges against a Senate witness who linked former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez to a multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

In a statement, Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon said DoJ should consider filing falsification charges against the witness that has tagged ex-Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co and Mr. Romualdez involvement in the flood control scandal.

He claimed to have delivered suitcases of cash to Mr. Co and the former House speaker in his affidavit to a Senate hearing on the flood control controversy, which has cast a shadow over President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s administration and implicated politicians, officials and private contractors.

“Our legislative inquiries — in both the Senate and the House — depend on the authenticity of every document submitted,” Mr. Ridon said. “When fabricated evidence is used to manipulate proceedings, it is not just an attack on individuals but on Congress itself.”

“This was no clerical mistake — it was a premeditated attempt to subvert truth.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio