Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has invited Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and the general public to Taguig City to personally inspect its local infrastructure developments, firmly denying allegations of ghost projects in his home territory.
The invitation follows claims by Lacson during an investigation into Taguig’s public works, alleging that Cayetano “virtually controlled” the operations of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the city.
Lacson highlighted alleged irregularities, including the recycling of photos used for project billing and collection.
Addressing the issue during a social media livestream on Saturday, Cayetano assured that all claims against Taguig’s projects could be answered.
“Let me assure you, lahat ng allegations na binabato sa amin ay masasagot and let me assure you na maayos dito sa Taguig,” Cayetano said. “Hinihintay ko lang parati ‘yung specific na allegation. Minsan kasi, hulugan din ‘yung mga allegation.”
“I will continue to invite, not only Sen. Lacson, not only his staff, but everyone. Iba kasi ‘yung sa papel-papel, iba ‘yung sa picture-picture. Tignan n’yo ‘yung budget, pumunta kayo sa lugar, makikita n’yong nandiyan talaga ‘yung project at magaganda. Again, to the best of my knowledge,” he added.
According to Lacson, five case studies conducted by his team revealed additional anomalies beyond photo recycling, such as overlapping slope protection spans and duplicate budget appropriations for single projects—costing the government hundreds of millions of pesos. He further alleged that local district engineers could not act without Cayetano’s go-ahead.
During the livestream, Cayetano also commented on his changing personal view of his colleague.
“May iba tayong politiko, including Sen. Lacson, gustong-gusto natin dati, maaring ngayon hindi, pero may pag-asa parati. Baka bumalik siya sa dati niyang for-the-truth fighting stance ‘di ba? So, let’s not give up on people because God did not give up on us,” Cayetano remarked.
Lacson has already forwarded his team’s gathered evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman, which is currently evaluating the case materials.