You'll pay dearly!

 Senators allied with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano forced their way yesterday into the plenary hall to proceed with the “Blue Ribbon committee” hearing that they had vowed to launch to give 18 men claiming to be former Marines the platform to repeat their allegations that they delivered suitcases of cash to several lawmakers and administration officials, including President Marcos.

Senators Vicente Sotto III and Erwin Tulfo as well as several congressmen denied receiving kickbacks from flood control projects, after their names were mentioned during a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing that their bloc described as bogus yesterday.

The Blue Ribbon Committee, led by the Cayetano bloc, proceeded without a Senate secretary or stenographers present.

Showing no signs of relinquishing his post, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano maintained that he is still the Senate president and that the scheduled Blue Ribbon committee hearing today will proceed.

In the end – I suspect – the reason the Cayetano-led Senate majority denied the chamber a quorum was to prevent any derailment to the Blue Ribbon committee hearing scheduled for this morning.