Senate Panel to Probe Taguig 'Ghost Projects' Based on Lacson Findings

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate blue ribbon committee may examine allegations of “ghost” infrastructure projects in Taguig City once Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson submits his findings, its chair Senator Erwin Tulfo said on Thursday. Tulfo said the information from Lacson would first be reviewed to determine the allegations, witnesses and projects that should be covered by the inquiry. “If he submits it, of course, we will have to review that … We really have to look into that because it is a serious matter,” Tulfo told reporters. The panel could resume its inquiry into alleged corruption in public works projects next week at the earliest after President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address on Monday. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Lacson flagged a possible “double appropriation” involving two P100-million allocations that appeared to cover the same slope protection project in Taguig City. “From P2.085B as earlier reported, we found three—P100M additional slope protection projects for a new total of P2.385B insertions under the 2025 [General Appropriations Act or GAA]. Two items appear to be double appropriations, involving two (2)-P100M for the same slope protection project. One of the two must be ghost,” he posted on Wednesday. Lacson earlier said his team had documented at least two case studies involving suspected ghost infrastructure projects in Taguig, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano. Before this, Lacson flagged several slope protection and drainage projects in the city mostly worth P100 million each, totaling a combined P2.085 billion out of what he claimed were P6.79 billion in insertions Cayetano made under the 2025 GAA. Lacson also alleged earlier that he had identified a Taguig City engineer who used two aliases in casinos, recording nearly P500 million in combined winnings and losses at one Metro Manila casino establishment. He has yet to publicly identify the engineer or present evidence supporting the allegations. But the senator has vowed to pursue his investigation to its “logical conclusion” amid his escalating public feud with Cayetano. The Inquirer sought Cayetano’s comment but has yet to receive a response as of publication. Cayetano, whose wife Lani Cayetano is Taguig’s mayor, previously denied the existence of ghost projects in the city and challenged Lacson to produce evidence. The National Bureau of Investigation has also started looking into the alleged ghost infrastructure projects based on Lacson’s claims. Some of the projects being scrutinized date back to 2019 and 2020, when Cayetano was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. —WITH A REPORT FROM PNA