By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has raised fresh concerns over what he described as a possible case of “double appropriation” involving two separate ₱100-million allocations that allegedly fund the same slope protection project in Taguig City.
In a statement posted on social media, Lacson said his continuing review of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) uncovered additional budget insertions that increased the total value of questioned slope protection projects in Taguig.
According to the senator, three more ₱100-million slope protection projects were identified, raising the total amount of alleged insertions from ₱2.085 billion to ₱2.385 billion.
Lacson said two of the newly identified appropriations appear to finance the same project.
“One of the two must be ghost,” the senator said, suggesting that one allocation may have no legitimate counterpart.
The latest allegation follows Lacson’s earlier disclosure that his team had documented at least two suspected “ghost” infrastructure projects in Taguig, the political stronghold of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
Previously, Lacson identified numerous slope protection and drainage projects—most carrying individual allocations of ₱100 million—which he claimed formed part of ₱6.79 billion in congressional budget insertions under the 2025 national budget.
He said 68 of the 70 identified projects had already been implemented, while two projects worth a combined ₱75 million remained unreleased or unobligated.
Lacson has vowed to continue examining the projects until the investigation reaches what he described as its “logical conclusion.”
Cayetano has repeatedly denied allegations that Taguig is home to ghost infrastructure projects.
The senator has challenged Lacson to broaden his investigation and examine infrastructure projects in other local government units instead of focusing solely on Taguig.
As of press time, Cayetano and his camp had yet to issue a new statement addressing Lacson’s latest allegations of possible duplicate appropriations.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has begun its own probe into the alleged ghost infrastructure projects following Lacson’s public disclosures.
Investigators are reviewing several projects dating back to 2019 and 2020, when Cayetano was serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives, to determine whether public funds were properly appropriated and utilized.
The inquiry continues as questions mount over the legitimacy of several infrastructure allocations included in previous national budgets.
ia/xf
