By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Sen. Panfilo Lacson has accused former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano of using the government’s budget process to pressure the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to stop an investigation into allegedly unauthorized reclamation in Taguig, raising fresh questions about political interference in the regulation of public land.
Lacson said the alleged pressure was exerted when the PRA began looking into reclaimed land that the agency had determined was developed by the Taguig City government without securing the required permits.
According to the senator, Cayetano allegedly threatened to suspend deliberations on the Office of the President’s budget unless the PRA backed off the inquiry.
“Cayetano threatened to have the deliberations on the [Office of the President’s] budget suspended, so they were pressured, and the investigation was stalled,” Lacson said.
The allegation has not been independently established, and Cayetano’s office had not responded to requests for comment as of publication.
Lacson said the absence of permits cannot be ignored simply because the reclaimed property may have provided benefits to residents.
“The reclaimed land may be benefiting residents, as former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano claims, but the proper procedures and laws still have to be followed, including securing the necessary permits,” he said.
The PRA, according to Lacson, found that the Taguig government did not obtain a single permit for the reclamation activity.
That finding has placed the project under renewed scrutiny as the agency prepares to pursue another investigation into the circumstances surrounding the creation and use of the reclaimed property.
The inquiry could determine whether the land was legally created and whether the parties responsible for the reclamation complied with environmental, regulatory and permitting requirements.
Lacson said the renewed PRA investigation could ultimately lead to a recommendation to forfeit the reclaimed land if violations are established.
Such a move would significantly escalate the dispute, transforming what has been presented by some as a local development issue into a broader test of the government’s authority to regulate reclamation activities and enforce permitting rules.
The senator stressed that the potential benefits of a project cannot serve as a substitute for compliance with the law.
The controversy also puts the PRA’s regulatory independence under the spotlight, particularly if allegations of political pressure to halt its work are substantiated.
For now, the central issues remain unresolved: whether the Taguig reclamation was undertaken without the permits required by law, who authorized it, and whether political pressure was used to prevent a government regulator from pursuing the matter.
The PRA’s renewed investigation may provide the answers—and could determine whether the disputed reclaimed land remains in Taguig’s hands or becomes subject to government forfeiture.
ia/xf
