The public should monitor the next Senate blue ribbon committee hearing if they want to know more about the ‘delicious’ controversy surrounding allegedly anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig City, Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson said on Wednesday.
He made the statement on X after Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called Lacson’s claims about the ‘ghost’ projects as ‘malicious,’ quipping that ‘malicious’ meant ‘mali’ or wrong but ‘delicious’ because it sounded good.
‘Malicious pero delicious’-bumigay na yata. Kung anu-ano na pinagsasabi, (Malicious but delicious-he’s showing his slip. He’s saying all sorts of things),’ Lacson said.
‘The public may partake of the ‘delicious’ part if they watch the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings where the details of the truth behind the [five] Taguig case studies that we submitted to the Ombudsman will be exposed,’ he added.
Turnover of evidence
On Tuesday, Lacson announced that his office had turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman all the documentary and testimonial evidence they had gathered to support cases for plunder, malversation and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against those responsible.
He revealed that his office’s investigation into infrastructure projects in Taguig City, Cayetano’s political bailiwick, uncovered irregularities, including ghost projects, double appropriations and recycled photos from previously completed contracts used to bill and collect for new ones.
Lacson’s probe was prompted by an escalating feud between him and Cayetano.
Cayetano, for his part, denied the allegations and described Lacson’s accusations as ‘general’ and ‘sweeping.’
He also said he was prepared to answer the accusations against him and that the public deserved to know the ‘whole truth’ through the proper process.
Senate blue ribbon committee chair Sen. Erwin Tulfo earlier said he was considering the resumption of hearings on alleged anomalies in flood control projects next week.
Tulfo, however, said that members of the Senate minority bloc were trying to prevent the committee from proceeding with the investigation.
When asked to name names, he replied: ‘Obvious. Who is being investigated? Who is Senator Lacson targeting?