Sen. Panfilo Lacson said his office turned over documentary and testimonial evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman on alleged anomalies in infrastructure projects in Taguig City, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
In a post on X on Tuesday, July 28, Lacson said the evidence submitted by his office consisted of official records obtained from government websites and information provided by reliable sources, which he asked the Office of the Ombudsman to evaluate as part of a motu proprio investigation into the alleged irregularities.
“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.
The senator said the evidence may support the filing of criminal cases involving plunder, malversation of public funds, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“We are looking at cases of plunder, malversation, violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, etc.,” he said.
Lacson said that from 2020 to 2025 alone, infrastructure projects in Taguig have reached a total value of P14.4 billion.
He alleged that the projects involved several questionable practices, including the alleged use of an illegal reclamation project disguised as slope protection structures, ghost projects, double appropriations, and the recycling of photographs from previously completed projects to justify payments for new contracts.
“Just as we thought last year that Bulacan was the microcosm of flood control project anomalies, Taguig is something else,” Lacson said.
He further claimed that the alleged scheme had been “controlled by one person” and dated back to as early as 2019.
Lacson expressed hope that the research and investigative work conducted by his staff would help accelerate the Ombudsman's probe.
“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,” he said.
The senator also vowed to continue providing additional evidence as it becomes available.
“We will 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,” Lacson added.
