The verbal spat between Senators Ping Lacson and Alan Cayetano shows no signs of easing after Lacson reportedly turned down a “ceasefire” offer by the minority leader. 

The two have been locked in a rhetorical duel since May, but tensions escalated after Lacson dug up flood control projects in Taguig—Cayetano’s bailiwick—dating back as far as 2020. 

The findings by Lacson’s office were turned over to the Ombudsman on Tuesday, with the recommendation for plunder, graft, and malversation. They are also set to be exposed in a parallel investigation by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, which will reopen in the coming weeks.

“Ceasefire my foot! What kind of man declares war, armed with a toy gun and with just his saliva as ammunition, then uses intermediaries to ask for a ceasefire when confronted by real bombs,” Lacson said in Filipino in a post on X on Thursday. 

Lacson rejected Senator Cayetano’s supposed offer as mere “hypocrisy aimed at buying time to recover and reconsolidate for his next sneaky move.”

Cayetano has yet to respond to the matter. 

The truce, purportedly offered secretly, came after Lacson’s announcement that findings will be laid bare in the BRC, with the senator’s estranged brother, PTV general manager Lino Cayetano, reportedly testifying. 

The findings were the result of Lacson’s independent probe into infrastructure projects in Taguig, which allegedly included “ghost” projects, while others were double-billed or paid twice. 

The scheme allegedly involved recycling photos from previously completed contracts to justify billing and collect payments for purportedly new projects. 

Overall, the money involved in the alleged anomalous projects totaled P14.4 billion, covering the period from 2020—when Cayetano was still the Speaker of the House of Representatives—to 2025. 

Cayetano has repeatedly denied Lacson’s allegations that there are “ghost” or non-existent projects in Taguig, arguing that the city remains flood-free compared to its neighboring cities. 

He also derided it as “malicious,” which he said was a combination of  (wrong) and delicious, or that it sounded good or appetizing to the public. 

Additionally, Cayetano denied that his camp had attempted to derail the resumption of the BRC’s probe into the flood control projects, vowing to confront them head-on.