SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Friday questioned former Senate president Alan Peter Cayetano’s sincerity in seeking a ceasefire in their word war over alleged anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig City.
Lacson said Cayetano approached at least five senators from the majority bloc beginning last week to relay his request for a truce. This week, Cayetano reportedly sought the help of one more senator to convey the same message.
“Where is your sincerity when you offer a ceasefire, then deny it at the first opportunity?” Lacson said in interviews over DZBB and True FM.
He said the matter was discussed during the majority bloc’s caucus on Wednesday, where he urged fellow senators to first determine whether Cayetano was acting in good faith before considering the proposal.
“He claims we should get back to work. In the first place, who disrupted and continues to disrupt the Senate’s work?” Lacson said.
He said Senate committees have already been organized, legislative inquiries are under way, and he has begun work as chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
Lacson has said his investigative team has uncovered anomalous infrastructure and flood control projects in Taguig City, Cayetano’s political bailiwick. He has since turned over documents related to the allegations to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Cayetano has repeatedly denied there are ghost projects in Taguig, and demanded that Lacson identify specific projects, their locations, contract amounts and the officials responsible.
He said broad accusations are insufficient and that he cannot properly respond without hard evidence.
Cayetano also welcomed an investigation by the Ombudsman, maintaining that Taguig officials have nothing to hide and that public officials proven guilty of wrongdoing should be held accountable regardless of political affiliation.
In defending Taguig’s infrastructure projects, Cayetano pointed to the city’s flood control record, arguing that if the projects were merely ghost projects, residents would be experiencing more severe flooding than they do now.
No judicial or administrative body has issued a final finding establishing liability against Cayetano or Taguig officials in connection with the alleged anomalous projects.
