THE SENATE minority bloc seemed to be getting leaner as Senator Panfilo Lacson submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman documentary and testimonial evidence on the alleged ghost projects in Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s political bailiwick.
According to Lacson, the files which were gathered from a government database and confidential sources could support possible plunder charges against Cayetano.
On top of plunder, Lacson hinted at two other charges which the Ombudsman may consider filing against Cayetano — malversation of public funds and violations of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“We hope the excellent research and investigative work that my staff did in this regard won’t be wasted and will contribute to the Ombudsman’s efforts to expedite their investigation,” Lacson said.
“We will continue to submit to the Ombudsman whatever pieces of evidence we can still secure to help them achieve our shared crusade against graft and corruption.”
WORSE THAN BULACAN
By his own admission, Lacson said he was under the impression that Bulacan is the center of the so-called flood control scandal — but not after his team presented its findings which showed that the infrastructure scheme in Taguig is far more complex than the ghost projects in Bulacan.
Lacson claimed that the Taguig projects involved old and new tactics dating back to 2019, including illegal reclamation projects allegedly disguised as slope protection structures, ghost projects, double appropriations and the use of recycled photos from past contracts to bill for new ones.
Lacson further claimed that there’s just one person whom he declined to name, behind the scheme which involved P14.4 billion (and counting) worth of infrastructure projects covering 2020 until 2025.
WHAT WENT BEFORE
Prior to the probe into the infrastructure projects in Taguig, Cayetano took a swipe at Senator Erwin Tulfo whom he referred to as Lacson’s lapdog.
Cayetano, who is allied with two senators facing plunder charges, also questioned the integrity of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth of Tulfo and Lacson.
Tulfo then exposed alleged efforts of the Cayetano bloc not to proceed with the blue ribbon committee hearings — “Sila na po yung nakikiusap na wag na daw po namin ituloy ang Blue Ribbon.”
When asked to as to why the Cayetano bloc wanted to prevent the blue ribbon committee hearing, Tulfo replied: “Obvious, sinong pinapa-imbestiga, sinong tinutumbok ni Sen. Lacson?”
