Manila, March 2 -- A group of petitioners has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to compel the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to release its partial draft report on the anomalous flood control projects investigation.

The petitioners - lawyers Eldridge Aceron, Sikini Labastilla and Purificacion Bartolome-Bernabe - have filed a petition for mandamus and certiorari before the High Court, challenging the Blue Ribbon's denial of their request to release the partial committee report.

The Senate panel, in its Feb. 23 decision to turn down the request, invoked the deliberative process privilege to prevent the "chilling effect" on frank deliberation within government bodies.

The petitioners, however, claimed that Blue Ribbon chairman Panfilo Lacson pub...