BLOOD is thicker than water, or so we thought. In Taguig City, the political clan lording over the lakeshore locality is on the verge of collapse after the youngest of the Cayetano siblings hinted at “telling all” about the ghost projects in their bailiwick.
In a radio interview, Senator Panfilo Lacson identified the “maverick” as Lino Cayetano, the youngest brother of minority Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
According to Lacson, the younger Cayetano, who now works as People’s Television Network General Manager, volunteered to share what he knows about “ghost projects” in the city.
“Someone told me, through an intermediary, that Lino wanted to cross over and asked if he could contact me because he wants to help in the investigation since he said he knows many ghost projects in Taguig,” Lacson was quoted as saying during a radio interview with hosts Ted Failon and DJ Chacha.
“We will look into those to show that there are ghost projects in Taguig,” Lacson added.
By his own admission, Lacson said that his office has long been looking into “defective projects” involving companies linked to private contractors Pacifico and Cezarah Discaya during Alan Peter’s stint as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Lacson however maintained he is not keen on the idea of “fabricating evidence” just to back his findings.
Sen. Cayetano however categorically denied the existence of ghost projects in Taguig City where he served as congressman before becoming a senator.
“All over the Philippines, all over Metro Manila, there are lots of floods, but here in our city, everything is orderly. Still, we are the ones being investigated. They say there are Discaya projects,” he said.
“But who has a picture with the Discayas? Isn’t it Sen. Ping Lacson? But I’m the one being investigated, not him,” he added.
Lacson and Cayetano have been at odds after the senate minority leader flagged Lacson’s net worth which had doubled over the years.
In response, Lacson corrected Cayetano’s statement adding that his worth quadrupled because his legitimate businesses are earning.
He also said that Alan Peter belongs in jail for corruption, adding that he was investigating alleged ghost projects in Taguig.
Cateyano is also being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over alleged irregularities in the country’s hosting of the 2019 SEA Games.
