Setting the record straight
on Lacson’s alleged ‘unexplained wealth’
WE write to set the record straight regarding Rigoberto Tiglao’s July 22, 2026, column in which he once again peddled the tired and thoroughly debunked insinuation about the supposed “unexplained wealth” of Sen. Panfilo Lacson (https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/07/22/opinion/columns/the-subpoena-ruling-weakensnot-strengthens-unexplained-wealth-case/2388674).
Rather than presenting facts, Tiglao chose to recycle an old falsehood while arguing in defense of Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial. In doing so, he drew a reckless — and ultimately false — comparison between the changes in the vice president’s wealth and Senator Lacson’s assets.
The facts are neither complicated nor hidden: Senator Lacson has repeatedly explained that the increase in his assets came during the three years he was a private citizen, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, between his Senate terms. During that period, he engaged in legitimate real estate transactions and other private business ventures. He duly declared his income, and his duly filed income tax returns bear this out.
These documented facts stand in stark contrast to the fiction repeatedly advanced by disgraced ex-Senate president Alan Peter Cayetano and now conveniently repackaged by Tiglao — as if repetition could substitute for proof.
Ironically, of all people, Tiglao should know better. The Arroyo administration of which he was a part accused Senator Lacson of having fabulous sums in US bank accounts. Senator Lacson denied these claims and even dared his accusers to show proof of such accounts, and if they could find any, they could have them. They found nothing.
Years later, those accusers admitted they were wrong, retracted their allegations and apologized. Even former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo herself acknowledged she unjustly accused Senator Lacson based on false information fed to her.
One would think that history — and basic journalism — would have taught Tiglao the value of verification before publication. Instead, he chose to recycle allegations that had long since collapsed under the weight of the facts. Opinion writing does not exempt a columnist from the obligation to verify before vilifying. A columnist is entitled to his opinions, but not to his own facts. And no amount of repetition can convert a disproven allegation into an established fact.
Integrity is the value Senator Lacson prizes above all else. It is a principle instilled in him by his parents, and one he has guarded throughout more than 50 years in public service. It is not something that can be tarnished by repeated and disproved lies, and rest assured he will not allow anyone to attack it.
We trust this sets the record straight on the unli fictional yarn against Senator Lacson that Tiglao seems determined to keep spinning. As Senator Lacson noted on X, capable counsel elevates public discourse while “bopols” diminish it. The same standard applies to writers: good ones enlighten their readers while those who repeatedly and maliciously recycle disproven insinuations do precisely the opposite.
Joel Locsin
Media Relations Officer
Office of Sen. Panfilo Lacson
