Malacañang on Sunday urged those claiming to have evidence against the alleged “big fish” behind anomalous flood control projects to file criminal complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice (DoJ) instead of waiting for congressional investigations.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said those with sufficient evidence should take the matter directly to the proper authorities.

“Who are the big fishes that they want to sue and be incarcerated? If they have airtight evidence, then [go to the] Ombudsman or the DoJ,” Castro said in a radio interview.

She pointed to Senator Panfilo Lacson, who earlier said he may skip a Senate investigation and instead file a complaint with the Ombudsman over alleged irregularities in infrastructure projects in Taguig City.

“If his evidence is already complete, he can file the case directly with the Office of the Ombudsman,” Castro said.

Lacson, in a post on X on Sunday, claimed to have uncovered fresh evidence of double billing in Taguig infrastructure projects.

Kickbacks

He said two supposedly separate projects used the same photograph for billing, while a slope protection project allegedly received two separate budget appropriations.

Cayetano has denied the allegations, insisting there were no ghost infrastructure projects in Taguig.

The Ombudsman has recently filed graft and corruption charges against several current and former lawmakers over flood control projects, including Rep. James Ang Jr. and former Sultan Kudarat congressman Arnulfo Go.

The controversy widened after former Ako Bicol Party list Rep. Zaldy Co alleged that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez received billions of pesos in kickbacks from flood control projects through alleged insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

Marcos and Romualdez have denied the allegations, with the Ombudsman filing a complaint against Romualdez for preliminary investigation.