Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson criticized Senate Deputy Minority Leader Rodante Marcoleta on Friday for failing to explicitly refute allegations linking him to a ₱500-million request for infrastructure “allocables.”
Lacson claimed that Marcoleta intentionally sidestepped the core issue involving a handwritten note reportedly sent to then-Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.
The request allegedly surfaced while former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan was undergoing the congressional confirmation process.
“He ‘deliberately’ missed the most important reaction: deny or refute the handwritten note (c/o Cong Marcoleta) on the document as presented,” Lacson wrote in a social media post.
The allegation was first highlighted during Lacson’s privilege speech last Tuesday, where he presented findings from a Blue Ribbon Committee inquiry into flood control project anomalies. The evidence included a slide of a document featuring a notation purportedly tied to Marcoleta, sourced from records kept by the late Undersecretary Cabral.
While the documents are being forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman for further investigation, Lacson clarified that Marcoleta is not yet a formal subject of a probe.
However, he warned that recommendations for prosecution could follow if “ghost” or substandard projects are eventually linked to the funds.
Marcoleta responded with his own privilege speech on Wednesday, characterizing the presentation as a smear campaign rather than a legitimate inquiry, though he stopped short of a direct denial regarding the specific document.
“Paraan lamang niya ito upang maipilit ang kanyang naratibo laban sa akin. Hindi na ito paghahanap ng katotohanan. Ito ay pagpapalutang ng duda sa pamamagitan ng isang palabas,” Marcoleta said.
The Deputy Minority Leader maintained that the accusations are merely an attempt to erode his reputation and public credibility.