Former Surigao del Sur Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has called on the National Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate what he described as an “illegal assembly” held at the Senate on June 4 under the guise of a Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
Barbers said the gathering, allegedly led by the Cayetano-Marcoleta group, should be examined for possible misuse of government resources and for actions that may have undermined the authority of the legitimate Senate leadership.
“Since when did it become legal to plot destabilization moves in broad daylight using government resources, in the guise of holding a legitimate Senate hearing?” Barbers said.
According to Barbers, the June 4 meeting had no legal basis after 12 senators declared all Senate positions vacant and the Blue Ribbon Committee chairmanship was transferred to Sen. Erwin Tulfo on June 3.
“The Senate majority of 12 can declare all seats vacant. There is no debate about it,” Barbers said.
He noted that even the deposed Senate President had acknowledged in a press conference that a majority of 12 could declare all positions vacant, except the positions of Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore.
“Therefore, the Blue Ribbon Committee chairmanship has been validly and legitimately transferred to Senator Erwin Tulfo on June 3, making the June 4 gathering unauthorized at the very least,” Barbers said.
Barbers said the June 4 activity could no longer be treated as a legitimate committee hearing if it was convened by officials who no longer had authority over the panel.
“With this admission, the meeting on June 4 in the Senate in the guise of a Blue Ribbon hearing is an illegal assembly, and the leaders are senators,” he said.
He questioned whether the use of government premises and public resources for the gathering could warrant possible graft charges or other complaints.
“If the assembly is illegal and aimed at attacking the government and other people, done inside a government-owned infrastructure and using government funds, this becomes an affront and challenge to the legitimate government,” Barbers said.
“Is this not a ground for the filing, at the very least, of graft charges against the leaders and participants of this illegal, seditious, and rebellious assembly?” he added.
Barbers, former overall chairperson of the House Quad Committee, urged the NBI and the Ombudsman to immediately look into the incident, prevent a repeat of similar gatherings, and file appropriate cases if evidence warrants.