The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to release cease-and-desist orders to halt unauthorized development projects linked to illicit reclamation in Taguig City, according to Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.
During a recent broadcast interview, Lacson shared that Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon promised immediate action as soon as the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) submits an official request.
“Sec. Dizon guaranteed that once he receives the PRA’s request to issue cease-and-desist orders, he will issue them immediately,” Lacson noted, adding, “This will prevent the worsening of the situation where government money is wasted on contractors who are doing the wrong thing,”
The senator noted that this assurance was established during a Thursday meeting where both parties examined the matter. Preliminary assessments show that the unapproved reclamation effort spans no less than 85 hectares.
Lacson previously stressed that any reclaimed land in Taguig developed without mandatory clearances faces government seizure, regardless of whether private entities, individuals, or the local government hold claims to the property.
“Under the law, you cannot cure that defect because the reclamation works that started without the needed permits are void ab initio, or from the very beginning,” he explained.
Beyond administrative breaches, the lawmaker highlighted severe ecological issues, pointing out that fake flood mitigation and slope control initiatives were used as a cover to dump municipal waste into Laguna Lake instead of routing it to the designated sanitary landfill in Rizal.
“You can’t do that because if you dump garbage meant for the landfill, you destroy the lake and the reclaimed area will have a weak foundation. But those activities did not stop then because the officials looking into the matter were harassed,” Lacson revealed.
Expressing strong confidence in the “glaring” documentation submitted by his team to the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the questionable Taguig projects, the lawmaker mentioned that investigators are currently cross-checking title records tied to the reclaimed land parcels.
Although several lots bear private titles, investigators are scrutinizing whether these documents were obtained through unlawful means.
“There are many sellers there, some with fake titles and all sorts of titles. We are now vetting the title numbers we have to determine where they originated, how parts of Laguna Lake came to have titles, and how the reclamation works were disguised as slope protection,” he remarked.