SEN. Panfilo M. Lacson on Sunday revealed fresh evidence pointing to double billing and collection involving infrastructure projects in Taguig City, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, with whom he has had a raging word war.
Lacson said one case involved two supposedly different projects that shared the same photo for billing purposes, while another involved a single slope protection project that received two separate budget appropriations.
In a post on X, referring to the first case, he said:
‘TAGUIG GHOST INFRA PROJECTS UPDATE #4: Two different projects, two distinct appropriations, two different technical descriptions and locations, two different contractors, but sharing the same photo for billing purposes. Status: both billed and collected.’
‘[The second case involves] One slope protection project, one location, one technical description, two separate budget appropriations. Status: both billed and collected,’ he added.
He then asked aloud, ‘Are these not criminal acts?’
Lacson said the latest findings add to the growing body of evidence he and his team gathered on allegedly anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig City.
‘The full details and pieces of evidence will be turned over to the Ombudsman or presented during the Blue-Ribbon committee hearings when called,’ Lacson said.
Earlier in the weekend, he said the anomalous infrastructure projects investigation will have a ‘logical conclusion,’ referring toi the slope protection and drainage projects in Taguig City that they are looking into.
Lacson said they continue to exert efforts to uncover the truth, as they seek to bring the investigation to its ‘logical conclusion’ and hold those responsible accountable.
Their efforts, he stressed, are driven not by personal motives but by the need to exact accountability.
In a post on X, Lacson, a veteran investigator before becoming National Police chief and later senator, said: ‘WORKING ON A WEEKEND: today, a Saturday, we haven’t slowed down in following up the leads to maintain the momentum gained since we started investigating the anomalous slope protection and drainage projects in Taguig. Our goal is to reach its logical conclusion.’
On Friday, Lacson said that with the plot thickening and the case strengthening, the investigation has reached the point where it can be described as ‘SHOOT SA KALDERO.’ It was a reference to the recent move to revive investigation into alleged fund anomalies in the 2019 Philippines’ hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, topped by a controversial construction of a cauldron-shaped tower where the Games’ light was lodged.
In a radio interview on Friday evening, Lacson said plunder-a non-bailable offense-may be among the charges that could be filed against those found responsible.
‘If it’s a series of acts and then P50 million [is involved], the only way it could go is plunder there’s no other way to go but to file plunder charges,’ he said in a radio interview, speaking partly in Filipino.
Lacson also reiterated that the investigation is not about personal conflicts, but about accountability.
‘This is not about friendship or personal fights, this is about accountability. If there is no accountability, why would I push through with the investigation)’ he said, partly in Filipino.
No ‘ghosts’ in Taguig
IN a livestream on Facebook, Cayetano addressed the allegations of ghost infrastructure projects in Taguig.
‘The allegations are general,’ he said. ‘I continue to wait kung ano ang specific allegation, and haharapin ko iyon.’
Earlier, Lacson posted ‘Update No. 3’ claiming that his team had found ‘damning evidence’ on alleged ‘ghost infra projects’ in Taguig, although the X post itself did not identify the particular project or evidence involved.
Cayetano maintained that preliminary checks by barangay and city officials, as well as inspections by national government personnel, found no ghost projects in Taguig, especially any involving him.
‘In our preliminary investigations, we did not see any ghost projects. The ones we earlier found problematic, we reported it earlier. No less than the top DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] officials from the regional to the national level have inspected some of the projects with problems and we were never amiss in pointing them out to them,’ he said.
He reiterated his openness to an investigation but called for an examination of infrastructure projects nationwide instead of singling out Taguig in his usual ‘spread the blame’ tactic.