Lacson mocks Cayetano’s credibility amid ghost project controversy

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday took a swipe at Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s credibility after the latter described him as having influence over various government agencies amid the controversy over alleged ghost projects in Taguig City.

In a post on X, Lacson quoted Cayetano as saying that he had become “Chief Justice Lacson, Prosecutor Lacson, DOJ Lacson, persecutor Lacson” and “Secretary Lacson,” who was supposedly “calling the shots.”

Lacson said, “If this were coming from someone credible, I’d take it as a compliment.”

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His statement came after Cayetano in a Facebook livestream on Tuesday, questioned what he described as Lacson’s influence over Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and other government agencies.

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“Si Senator Lacson kasi ano na eh, Chief Justice Lacson, Prosecutor Lacson, DOJ Lacson, persecutor Lacson, siya na lahat. Secretary Lacson, siya na nagdidikta eh,” Cayetano said.

(Senator Lacson has become Chief Justice Lacson, the prosecutor Lacson, the DOJ Lacson, the persecutor Lacson, he’s everything now. Secretary Lacson, he’s the one calling the shots.)

READ: Cayetano to Dizon: ‘Nasaan ang paninindigan mo?’

Cayetano also alleged that Lacson was calling the shots at the Laguna Lake Development Authority, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine Reclamation Authority.

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Cayetano’s remarks came amid the dispute over Dizon’s clarification on his statement that there were no ghost projects in Taguig.

Dizon had explained that while none of the 10 projects conclusively identified as ghost projects nationwide was in Taguig, the investigation into infrastructure projects in the city remained ongoing.

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READ: Lacson urges Dizon: Tell truth on Taguig ‘ghost’ projects

Lacson had earlier challenged Dizon’s initial statement that there were no ghost projects in Taguig, citing preliminary findings involving several projects, including a Taguig project whose geotagged billing photographs reportedly contained coordinates pointing to Leyte.

After Dizon clarified that the Taguig findings remained subject to validation, Lacson acknowledged the clarification.

Lacson said preliminary inspection findings did not automatically prove that a project was “ghosted” but that authorities also could not definitively conclude that no ghost projects existed.

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The Inquirer sought Cayetano’s comment on Lacson’s latest remark but has yet to receive a response as of posting time. /jpv