Lacson: Cayetano's ceasefire offer sank after public denial

Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said on Friday that Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano's offer for a "ceasefire" amid his exposé on alleged anomalies in flood control projects in Taguig City had "sank" after Cayetano publicly denied the request. Lacson said Cayetano's attempt for a peace overture started Wednesday last week when he privately asked five senators from the majority bloc to relay his offer for a ceasefire. According to Lacson, the efforts intensified on Monday and Tuesday when Cayetano requested one senator to ask the favor. The issue was also raised during the caucus and fellowship of the majority bloc on Wednesday. However, Lacson said Cayetano's efforts for a ceasefire "sank" after publicly denying the request. "Where's the sincerity if the person who offered the ceasefire denied it at the first opportunity?" he said. On Thursday, Lacson took to X (formerly Twitter) to reject an alleged "ceasefire" offer from an individual amid his exposé into the alleged anomalies in the flood control projects in Taguig City. He did not name who made the overture but said it was from "someone who had arbitrarily and indiscriminately opened fire without provocation." He also denounced the call as "hypocrisy aimed at buying time to recover and reconsolidate for his next sneaky move." "Ceasefire my foot! What kind of man declares war, armed with a toy gun, and his saliva as ammunition; then when confronted with bombs, he requests for ceasefire with a whisper?" Lacson said. Asked to confirm if the individual who asked for a ceasefire is Cayetano, Lacson answered: "That is correct, absolutely." Cayetano had earlier denied making the offer. Feud The feud between Lacson and Cayetano started after the latter, in a Facebook live, questioned the increase in Lacson's declared net worth in 2025. Lacson, a former chairperson of the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, fired back and said he would pursue the investigation into the anomalies in the flood control projects in Taguig City, the Cayetano family's political bailiwick. "He attacked my integrity so we prioritized Taguig. But the files were there all this time," the senator said. "We obtained a lot of files when the flood control anomalies broke out, but we were overwhelmed by the cases in Bulacan, Occidental Mindoro and Pampanga. That's why we were only able to give it little attention but they've been there all the time." On Tuesday, Lacson said his office turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman the documentary and testimonial evidence they have gathered in relation to the alleged anomalies, including supposed double billing and collection involving infrastructure projects in Taguig. Lacson linked the findings to Cayetano, who refuted claims of ghost infrastructure projects in Taguig City and called for an investigation in other cities in Metro Manila. Incidentally, Cayetano's wife, Lani, is the current mayor of Taguig. — VDV, GMA News