By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday disclosed that he rejected what he described as a backchannel appeal urging him to suspend his public disclosures on alleged irregularities involving infrastructure projects in Taguig City, saying he would continue pursuing the matter until those responsible are held accountable.
Lacson said an intermediary recently approached him with a proposal for a “ceasefire” following his series of revelations on alleged anomalies linked to projects undertaken during the period when former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano was one of Taguig’s principal political leaders.
According to Lacson, he imediately turned down the proposal, insisting that neither private appeals nor informal negotiations would deter him from pursuing the investigation and filing the appropriate cases.
The senator maintained that the evidence gathered by his team had already been transmitted to the Office of the Ombudsman for evaluation, expressing confidence that the documents and supporting records would withstand legal scrutiny.
Lacson has accused officials involved in the questioned projects of engaging in irregularities that allegedly include ghost infrastructure works, duplicate appropriations, double billing, and the repeated use of photographs to support separate project claims. He has said the evidence could support criminal charges under existing anti-graft laws.
He likewise indicated that the controversy could also be taken up before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee should lawmakers decide to conduct a formal inquiry into the alleged anomalies.
The allegations form part of Lacson’s continuing campaign to expose what he described as questionable infrastructure transactions involving projects implemented in Taguig between 2020 and 2025.
Former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing related to the Taguig projects and has maintained that the infrastructure initiatives undertaken during his administration complied with existing laws and government procedures.
As of Thursday, Cayetano’s camp had not publicly responded to Lacson’s latest claim that an intermediary attempted to broker a temporary halt to the senator’s disclosures.
The latest exchange further escalates the political dispute between the two veteran lawmakers as official proceedings over the alleged anomalies continue, with the controversy now extending beyond the projects themselves to claims of behind-the-scenes efforts to defuse the issue.
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