Lacson warns Dizon vs. engaging in cover-up of alleged Taguig ghost projects

Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday warned Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon of engaging in a cover-up of the alleged ghost projects in Taguig, after he was informed that the DPWH website was down when reporters tried to check details he provided on the questioned infrastructure.

In an interview on Super Radyo DZBB, Lacson said Dizon also called him over the weekend to apologize after he told a Senate committee hearing, on Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano's question, that there were no ghost projects in Taguig.

“Sinabihan ko si Sec. Vince, sabi ko, ‘Vince, mag-ingat kayo rito kasi ‘pag nagco-cover up kayo magiging criminally liable kayo. at the very least, pwede kayong maging accessory,” Lacon said.

(So I told Sec. Vince, I said, ‘Vince, be careful with this because if you cover this up, you could become criminally liable. At the very least, you could be charged as an accessory.’)

He said Dizon denied that the DPWH website was taken down.

“Aba, makailang sandali, nag-report siya sa ‘kin hindi raw naka-takedown, so ibig sabihin, in-up nila kasi sinita ko,” Lason said.

(A short while later, he reported back to me saying it wasn't down, which means they brought it back up because I called them out.)

The senator said he warned Dizon not to attempt to deny the projects he flagged, as he had already submitted his investigation's findings to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Lacson said the anti-graft body could look into the possible filing of charges for plunder, malversation, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

In July, Lacson announced his submission of documentary and testimonial evidence to the Ombudsman regarding alleged anomalies involving flood control projects in Taguig.

GMA News Online has sought Dizon's comment and will publish it as soon as it is available.

Clarification

Lacson said Dizon called him to clarify his response regarding whether there are ghost projects in Taguig.

“Kahapon, tawag siya nang tawag. Nung nag-pickup ako sa phone at nag-usap kami, he was profusely apologizing at ang sabi niya ika-clarify niya raw today at hindi raw ganon ang pagkasabi niya mukhang na-setup daw siya,” Lacson said.

(Yesterday, he kept calling me. When I picked up the phone and we spoke, he was profusely apologizing, saying he wanted to clarify his statement today, that he didn't mean it that way, and that he felt set up.)

“Eh pinadala ko sa kaniya ‘yung video mismo ng hearing, sabi ko, ‘Mukhang napakaliwanag ng sagot mo ritong wala po.’ Tapos sinundan pa ito ni Usec. Bernabe na 107 out of 107 projects eh accomplished. So ano 'yon? Hindi ba categorical yon?” he added.

(I sent him the actual video of the hearing and said, ‘Your answer here seems crystal clear when you said there were none.’ Then Undersecretary Bernabe followed up by stating that 107 out of 107 projects were accomplished. So what was that? Wasn't that categorical?)

Lacson had previously alleged the existence of ghost projects in Taguig based on findings from his team's investigation.

In the interview, Lacson also recalled looking for Dizon during the Senate budget deliberations, briefly stepping away from his hearing at the Commission on Appointments (CA).

“Tinanong ko si Senator JV [Ejercito] sabi ko ‘Nasaan si VInce?’ Sabi niya ‘Andon nasa office ni Senator Alan, nag-uusap sila.’ So hintay ako nang hintay, ang tagal eh kailangan bumalik ako sa CA, bumalik ako sa CA,” Lacson said.

(I asked Senator JV [Ejercito], ‘Where is Vince?’ He said, ‘He's over in Senator Alan's office, they're talking.’ So I kept waiting, but it was taking too long, and I had to return to the CA.)

Close coordination

Lacson expressed confusion over Dizon’s response to Cayetano, noting that his investigation into the projects in Taguig had been carried out in close coordination with the DPWH.

Among the projects that Lacson flagged was a project whose geotagged photos placed its location in the Visayas.

Lacson said that the report on the project came directly from Dizon’s agency and was conducted last July.

“Galing mismo sa kanila ‘yung report eh. Kasi noong July 23 to 25, nagpadala ng five teams ‘yung kanilang agency, ‘yung DPWH. Composite ito eh—’yung Bureau of Quality and Safety, Construction, Research, Standards, and tsaka yung Maintenance,” Lacson said.

(The report came directly from them. From July 23 to 25, their agency, the DPWH, dispatched five composite teams—comprising the Bureau of Quality and Safety, Construction, Research and Standards, and Maintenance.)

“‘Yun ‘yung mga engineers na pinadala doon sa Taguig dahil nga lumabas ’yung issue sa mga slope protection doon,” he added.

(Those were the engineers sent to Taguig after the issues surrounding the slope protection projects surfaced.)

The senator emphasized that this project was just one among 68 projects flagged in the agency's findings, pointing out that the discrepancy in the geotagged location served as his basis for highlighting it.

Subsequently, Lacson said he dispatched a team to Tacloban to verify their findings, noting that the project had already collected P96.5 million across four billings, making a mere error highly unlikely.

Lacson stressed that while he is not outright concluding the project is non-existent, the possibility of ghost projects cannot be ruled out either.

“Hindi naman natin kino-conclude na ghost ito, pero ‘di rin natin pwedeng i-conclude na walang ghost [projects] sa Taguig,” Lascon said.

(We are not concluding that this is a ghost project, but we also cannot conclude that there are no ghost projects in Taguig.)

“Isa lamang ‘yan. Meron iba na proyekto na nung vinerify nila, hindi nila makita yung proyekto kasi nga wala doon sa site eh, di naman established kasi natakpan na ng panibagong proyekto,” he added.

(That's just one example. There are other projects where, upon verification, they couldn't locate the physical site because it was already covered by a new project.)

He pointed out that a similar modus operandi was used in controversial public works projects in Bulacan, where new projects were built over non-existent ones to secure new funding.

“Di ko ine-expect na ganon katindi ‘yung kaniyang pag-deny na ‘Wala po.’ Categorical eh… So parang sa akin ang balik no'n eh. Bina-bash nga ako na sinungaling daw ako, na nagkamali raw ako. So I had to defend my position,” Lacson said.

(I didn't expect such a firm denial from Dizon when he said, ‘There are none.’ It was so categorical... So to me, it backfired. People were bashing me, calling me a liar and saying I was mistaken. So I had to defend my position.)

“Siguro naman na-establish ko na ‘yung aking credibility. Hindi ako magsasalita nang walang resibo. Napaka-mindful ko pagdating sa fact-checking, ayokong nafa-fact-check ako at napapahiya ako, so hindi ako maglalabas ng, hindi ako mag-e-expose nang hindi kumpletong resibo,” he added.

(.. I believe I have established my credibility. I don't speak without receipts. I am extremely careful with fact-checking because I don't want to be fact-checked or embarrassed, so I won't expose anything without complete receipts.) –NB, G