DPWH stops Taguig reclamation projects

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has issued cease-and-desist orders on allegedly illegal reclamation projects in Taguig City, Secretary Vince Dizon said on Sunday.

Dizon said the orders were served on Aug. 20 following a directive from the Office of the President through the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), which is under the said office.

“Let’s just discuss and if there is any problem there, then let’s determine the way forward,” Dizon told reporters in an interview after his inspection of the Tumana pumping station in Marikina City.

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He added that the orders were “effective immediately,” but he also said his agency did not yet have a list of the projects involved.

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READ: Lacson flags 4 ‘fraudulently’ titled parcels of reclaimed land in Taguig

Titles questioned

“I think a meeting will be called among different stakeholders, including the City of Taguig plus [Laguna Lake Development Authority] and PRA,” Dizon said.

Earlier this month, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said an investigation by his office has found reclamation activities on Taguig City’s side of Laguna Lake covering at least 85 hectares of land.

He warned that these activities may threaten the Laguna Lake’s ecosystem as garbage meant for the Rizal provincial sanitary landfill may end up there instead.

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In a series of posts on X on Saturday, Lacson disclosed that four allegedly “fraudulently” titled parcels of illegally reclaimed land in Taguig City have been identified and will be turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation.

READ: Lacson: Ombudsman subpoenas on Taguig infra docs already out

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According to Lacson, the lands cover areas ranging from 5,000 to 193,027 square meters. All four were processed through various patent and land registration procedures.

The senator said further there were four other parcels with no plotted titled lots in the Land Registration Authority’s digital records.

‘Cauldron of worms’

Lacson’s probe into Taguig’s infrastructure projects started last month, triggered by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s allegations on Facebook live that his net worth had increased twofold.

Lacson fired back, saying he had no budget insertions since he was elected senator, and in turn accused Cayetano of making P6.79-billion insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

Cayetano has denied all these allegations and said Taguig had no “ghost” projects.

Earlier this month, Lacson said his probe into the Taguig projects uncovered a “cauldron of worms” to include illegal reclamation activities in Laguna Lake.

He claimed these activities, which he linked to the Cayetano political family, had been carried out for years under the guise of flood control and mitigation projects. He also alleged that Cayetano threatened the PRA to stop it from investigating the reclamation works.

He had sought the forfeiture of the reclaimed lakeshore areas in favor of the national government.

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has expressed support for the investigation into the reclamation activities, saying these were threatening Laguna Lake’s ecosystem and affecting fisherfolk and urban poor communities in Muntinlupa and Taguig cities.

Pamalakaya, a national federation of small-scale fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines, also rejected Cayetano’s claim that the projects were intended to control flooding and protect the lake.

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Lacson’s office has identified 32 allegedly anomalous flood control projects in Taguig City since he started his probe. —WITH REPORTS FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH, AND PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY