SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Monday warned Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon that any attempt to cover up anomalies in infrastructure projects in Taguig City could expose those involved to possible criminal liability.
Lacson said Dizon should address red flags identified by the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) own inspection teams in 68 infrastructure projects in Taguig, including a slope protection project along the Taguig River whose billing photographs contained geotagged coordinates pointing to Leyte.
“I told him not to deny the existence of ghost projects because we already submitted the appropriate records to the Ombudsman. You will get into trouble if you try to cover up. Let’s all just come clean on the issue,” Lacson said in an interview on radio dzBB.
Lacson said Dizon called him over the weekend after he disclosed details of the Slope Protection along Taguig River Project, whose geotagged photographs attached to its billing documents contained coordinates pointing to Leyte province, about 600 kilometers from Taguig.
The project, identified by Contract ID 220B0106, had three locations in Tacloban City reflected in the geotagged photographs, he said.
Records showed that the DPWH paid St. Timothy Construction Corp., which Lacson identified as being owned by the Discaya family, about P96.5 million for the project.
Lacson said the project was not an isolated case but was the “most brazen” example among several questionable and suspected “ghost” projects in Taguig identified in site inspection reports.
“I highlighted this project because it was so brazen, with the photos in the billing reports pointing to an area 600 kilometers away,” he said.
Lacson said, however, that he was not yet concluding that the projects were “ghost” projects.
At the same time, he said it would also be premature to conclude that there were no ghost projects in Taguig based on the statements of Dizon and DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III during last Friday’s Senate hearing on the agency’s proposed 2027 budget.
“We are not concluding that those flagged projects are ‘ghosts’ but it is also not correct to conclude that there are no ghost projects in Taguig. The project I described was one of many with findings. In some cases, the inspection teams could not verify the projects because they were covered up by newer projects,” Lacson said.
Lacson said Dizon was “very apologetic” during their phone call and claimed he had been “set up” when he told senators during Friday’s Senate finance subcommittee hearing that there were no ghost projects in Taguig.
In response, Lacson sent Dizon a video recording of the portion of the hearing where Dizon “clearly” said there were no ghost projects — followed by Undersecretary Bernabe’s claim that all 107 projects in Taguig “have accomplishments.” The senator also said he was informed Sunday that a media organization attempting to verify records on the slope protection project through the DPWH website found that the site was inaccessible.
He said that when he told Dizon about this, the website appeared to be back up.
Lacson said the issue was particularly troubling because the DPWH’s own inspection teams had found red flags in 68 projects in Taguig.
Five DPWH teams composed of personnel from the Bureau of Quality and Safety, Bureau of Construction, Bureau of Research and Standards, and Bureau of Maintenance were sent to Taguig from July 23 to 25 to inspect projects there.
“I told him to be careful because whoever takes part in a cover-up will become criminally liable. At the very least, they will become accessories after the fact because of the coverup,” Lacson said.
Also, Lacson said that last Friday, he learned from Senate finance committee chairman JV Ejercito that Dizon had gone to Cayetano’s Senate office before the subcommittee hearing on the DPWH budget started.
He said that at the time, he had a hectic schedule as he was chairing the foreign relations committee hearing of the Commission on Appointments.
“I asked Senator Ejercito where Dizon was. I was told he was in Cayetano’s office, and that they were talking,” Lacson said.
Lacson said he did not expect the categorical denial from Dizon about ghost projects in Taguig.
The senator said he had to defend his position especially because he was given the “receipts” of the projects.
He said he could not accept Dizon’s statement that there were no ghost projects “as of now,” noting that the DPWH’s own inspection reports were dated July 23 to 25.
“I sympathize with the DPWH’s engineers who were contradicted by their own boss. When Dizon called me and told me he was surprised by my revelation on the Taguig project with photos in Leyte, I told him it was in the DPWH’s own report,” he said.
In the meantime, Lacson said he will continue to look into the irregularities in flood-control and infrastructure projects, including those in Taguig.
He said he and his staff are currently looking into ghost projects that were covered up by new projects in the same areas, and “projects for hire” where the winning bidder would allow other contractors to work on projects and collect royalties.
Also, Lacson said he will continue to answer insinuations with “receipts.” “I have established my credibility. I don’t talk without receipts. I am mindful of being fact-checked so I will not expose anything without the complete receipts,” he added.
Cayetano, meanwhile, called for stronger and more consistent enforcement of standards across the DPWH covering not only the design and construction of roads and bridges but also road safety, labor practices and public accessibility.
During a recent briefing on the DPWH’s 2027 budget, Cayetano said the agency needs to strengthen its standards as regional and district offices take on greater autonomy in implementing infrastructure projects.
“I think the number one role of the Bureau of Design in the central office is really to develop and enforce the standards. Standards for roads, standards for bridges... I just want you to know, whether it’s the building code or the bureaus, I think they’re needed,” he said.
Dizon acknowledged gaps not only in the development of standards but also in their implementation across the agency.
“We are definitely looking at it and we want to strengthen the standards. From a small issue such as road signs. We have some semblance of standards. But again, the implementation is really lacking,” Dizon said.
