SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said he and his team turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman the evidence they gathered on anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig City, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
In a statement posted on his social media, Lacson said the evidence may be sufficient to support cases for plunder, malversation, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against those responsible.
“This morning, we turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman for their further evaluation and ‘motu proprio’ investigation all the documentary and testimonial evidence, i.e. official records culled from government websites, while others were supplied by reliable sources, that we have gathered so far,” Lacson said.
“We are looking at cases of plunder, malversation, violations of the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), etc.,” he added.
Lacson said the anomalies in Taguig City are “something else” compared to the questionable flood control projects he and his team earlier documented in Bulacan.
He said the anomalies involving infrastructure projects in Taguig City employed a mix of “old and new tricks.”
These include “passing off an illegal reclamation project as slope protection structures with several ghost projects, cases of double appropriations, recycled photos belonging to past and already completed contracts to bill and collect for new ones — all controlled by one person, dating as far back as 2019,” Lacson said.
“For the period 2020-2025 alone, Taguig has accumulated P14.4 billion worth of infra projects and still counting,” he added.
Lacson said they would continue to submit to the Ombudsman “whatever pieces of evidence we can still secure to help them achieve our shared crusade against graft and corruption.”
“We hope the excellent research and investigative work that my staff did in this regard won’t be wasted and will contribute to the Ombudsman’s efforts to expedite their investigation,” the senator said.
“We assure the Office of the Ombudsman, we won’t relax. We will ‘kalkal’ pa (dig up) more!” Lacson added.
Lacson earlier said he prioritized investigating the projects in Taguig after Cayetano attacked his integrity.
Cayetano has repeatedly denied that there are ghost projects in Taguig, noting that flooding rarely occurs in the city.
In Facebook livestream on Tuesday, Cayetano said welcomed Lacson’s submission of his findings on alleged ghost projects in Taguig, but called the accusations as “malicious.”
“I welcome that (Lacson’s filing) because, in the same way that I tell everyone that there should be accountability, the same applies to me. All I’m saying is that it should be done in the proper venue and at the proper time,” Cayetano said.
“But from my point of view, it’s malicious because I don’t know exactly what the accusation is about or why such accusations are being made,” he added.
Cayetano also said that the accusations were too “general” and appeared to be “sweeping” for now and that people from Taguig could attest to the results of good governance.
He said he was prepared to answer the accusations in the proper forum while inviting the public to stay updated on the developments.
“You deserve to know the whole truth, and I believe through the proper process, the whole truth will eventually come out,” he added.
Romualdez case
Also on Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed its preliminary investigation team has issued an order requiring former speaker Martin Romualdez and other respondents to file their counter-affidavits in connection with the ongoing probe into the flood control scandal.
“The order states that they have 15 days upon receipt to submit the counter-affidavit. When all parties have submitted, the case will be submitted for resolution,” said Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano.
The complaints filed include charges of plunder, direct and indirect bribery, graft, and money laundering.
Romualdez and several others, including fugitive former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, were accused of pocketing about P56 billion from 2022 to 2025 by diverting funds intended for the government’s infrastructure projects.
The former speaker was earlier tagged by the Ombudsman as a “central figure” in the diversion of public funds intended for flood control projects amounting to billions.
Romualdez has repeatedly maintained his innocence and said he will comply with the process and “let the evidence speak.”
In his fifth State of the Nation Address last Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mentioned that the Ombudsman was close to filing multiple cases against the former speaker in connection with the massive corruption scandal.
The probe, he added, resulted in the filing of cases and arrests of contractors, senior government officials, and lawmakers.
In response, the Office of the Ombudsman said it is “grateful that this office has been left free to carry out its constitutional mandate and to follow the evidence wherever it leads, including to those closest to the president himself.”
“The Office of the Ombudsman will press forward steadily, fairly and without fear or favor, for as long as the evidence and the law will allow,” it said.
