Lacson vows to jail Cayetano over corruption allegations

Senator Panfilo Lacson has vowed to put colleague Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano behind bars for having “crossed the line” by attacking the older senator’s integrity. After Cayetano questioned Lacson’s wealth, the former Blue Ribbon chair retaliated on X yesterday, saying he has already spoken with “several informants and witnesses, directly or through intermediaries, willing to provide information and evidence to put him (Cayetano) in his proper place – the Payatas, QC jail.” “My integrity is my first and last line of defense and I will fight to defend it with all my might,” Lacson said. Lacson described integrity as the most valuable asset he had protected through more than five decades in public service as a police officer and legislator. He said he maintained a “no-take” policy while serving in the Philippine National Police, rejecting hush money and grease money from gambling operators as well as kickbacks from suppliers and contractors. He also said he turned down reward money from families of kidnapping victims rescued by police. As senator, Lacson said he did not participate in any form of pork barrel spending and rejected lobbying money in exchange for favorable legislation. He contrasted this with what he described as P6.79 billion in “pork barrel-like” budget insertions allegedly made by Cayetano in the 2025 General Appropriations Act. “I’ve tasted power and I know how to handle power through personal experience. I am not an abusive and corrupt government official,” Lacson said. The exchange stemmed from a Facebook Live broadcast on Saturday, wherein Cayetano questioned the increase in Lacson’s declared net worth based on his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth. Lacson denied any irregularity, saying his net worth nearly quadrupled during the three years he was out of government after leaving the Senate on June 30, 2022. He said his wealth came from legitimate sources reflected in his 2023 and 2024 income tax returns. He said that there were ghost flood control projects in Cayetano’s political bailiwick in Taguig and that the city’s engineer had been gambling large sums in Metro Manila casinos. Cayetano has also found himself in the crosshairs of the National Bureau of Investigation, which is probing alleged corruption during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games when he chaired a private foundation that served as the games’ organizing committee. In a separate X post, Lacson invoked past corruption allegations leveled against him during the Arroyo administration, saying he had overcome them and would again defend his integrity against what he described as “baseless accusations” from Cayetano. Lacson said Cayetano’s attacks were similar to accusations made against him after he was elected senator in 2001, when he was accused of amassing illegal wealth and maintaining undisclosed foreign bank accounts. “I didn’t back down and proved them wrong, going as far as publicly challenging my accusers by signing a formal waiver to open my bank accounts,” Lacson recalled. This public spat between prominent senators highlights ongoing political rivalries and scrutiny over public funds and officials' integrity in the Philippines, particularly as elections approach.