Daily Tribune
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday hit back at Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson after the latter vowed to gather witnesses and evidence to have him jailed, accusing the former police chief of selectively pursuing investigations and using the reopened probe into the 2019 Southeast Asian Games to attack him politically.
In two Facebook livestreams, Cayetano responded to Lacson's social media post earlier in the day, where the senator said he was gathering informants and witnesses "to put him in his proper place — the Payatas, QC jail."
"I understand that you are hurt because your integrity is being questioned. But I did not start this," Cayetano said.
He argued that he only began scrutinizing Lacson after questioning the senator's handling of recent investigations, including those involving Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and the government's flood control program.
"So why not apply that same integrity to the flood control investigation and all the country's major corruption issues?" he said.
Cayetano rejected Lacson's allegations that Taguig City has ghost flood control projects, saying repeated inspections by authorities and his office found no such anomalies.
"There are no ghost projects in Taguig. And if you can show one, those responsible should be held accountable," he said.
He explained that a ghost project refers to one that has already been paid for despite no work having been completed.
"For everyone's understanding, a ghost project is one that has been paid for even though nothing was actually built."
Cayetano urged the Department of Public Works and Highways to require district engineers and local government units to document flood control projects nationwide.
"Direct all district engineers, and if possible even local governments, to photograph every project. If nothing is there, then that's a ghost project," he said.
He also questioned why Lacson was focused on Taguig despite flood control concerns being raised elsewhere.
"Why are you only looking at Taguig?" he asked.
Cayetano also questioned the timing of the National Bureau of Investigation's revived probe into the Philippines' hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
"After two weeks of the impeachment trial, suddenly the NBI goes after the Southeast Asian Games, something the entire nation is proud of. It has already been investigated several times. We have nothing to hide. We're proud of it," he said.
The NBI recently reopened its investigation into alleged anomalies in the 2019 SEA Games after receiving what it described as new information involving procurement, infrastructure projects and billions of pesos in public funds.
The Department of Justice has maintained that the NBI is conducting an independent investigation, while the Office of the Ombudsman has separately reopened its review of complaints that were dismissed in 2021.
Cayetano accused Lacson of trying to lump together multiple issues—including the SEA Games investigation, flood control anomalies and other corruption allegations—to build a political case against him.
"You want to bundle all these issues together so you can be the only one in the spotlight," he said.
He also alleged that Lacson had been targeting several senators in recent months.
"Senator Lacson's job now seems to be going after senators. He already did this to Senate President Chiz Escudero, Sen. Joel Villanueva, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and Sen. Erwin Tulfo. Now I'm the sixth or seventh," Cayetano said.
Cayetano further claimed that individuals who once worked closely with Lacson had since approached him with information.
"You know who the mastermind is. You know where the money went," he said, without presenting evidence to support the allegation.
Despite the escalating exchange, Cayetano said investigations should focus on evidence rather than personalities.
"When I talk about flood control, I'm talking about all the corruption issues in our country," he said.
"We should be serious about the impeachment trial. Why can't we simply do our jobs?"
