Senators Ping Lacson and Alan Cayetano continue to trade rebuttals on Tuesday, with the minority leader branding Lacson as a “Marites” (gossip monger) in a strong pushback against his new probe findings alleging that Taguig illegally claimed portions of Laguna Lake. 

Cayetano dismissed Lacson’s fresh allegations as “hearsay,” accusing him of being a “troll” for habitually attacking him using the findings of his independent investigation into alleged anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig—Cayetano’s political bailiwick. 

The latest findings allegedly involved “ghost” slope protection projects and the illegal reclamation activities in portions of Laguna Lake, with Lacson pledging to forfeit in favor of the government.

“Our Taguig City case study has opened a 'cauldron of worms' after my meeting with Philippine Reclamation Authority officials last night—from ghost slope protection projects to illegally reclaimed tracts of land covering Laguna Lake,” Lacson said in a post on X on Tuesday.

Lacson vowed to work on it until the culprits behind the “grossly anomalous and patently illegal activities” are sent behind bars. This would be made possible through close coordination with the Ombudsman, DPWH, PRA, and Laguna Lake Development Authority.

Cayetano was quick to debunk the allegations, saying the Bicutan lakeshore remains under government control and is designated as a public park. He added that the projects spanned three administrations—Aquino, Duterte, and Marcos Jr.—and were undertaken by government-to-government coordination.

“It is not true that the rumors being spread by gossipmongers that there is a private reclamation project there,” Cayetano said on Facebook Live shortly after Lacson’s office issued the press release. 

“That senator-judge has been trolling me almost every day. It’s all just gossip, or, as they say, inconclusive, argumentative, and hearsay,” he added. 

Cayetano argued that Lacson could have left the investigation to the proper agency but instead chose to weaponize the findings against him.

Cayetano accused of harassment

“So, if Senator Lacson—our senator-judge-troll—wishes to inspect the developments at the lake, he is most welcome,” he stressed.

Citing PRA officials, Lacson accused Cayetano of employing harassment tactics against them during 2025 budget deliberations to prevent them from scrutinizing the supposed illegal reclamation projects. 

“The same officials likewise disclosed physical intimidation when they conducted [an] on-site inspection along C6 in the Lakeshore area where the illegal reclamation activities are taking place," he said.

Earlier, Lacson cited evidence linking Cayetano to reclamation projects along Taguig’s lakeshore development that purportedly lacked the required permits from agencies including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The projects, he alleged, were funded using the national budget meant for slope protection projects, but officials who had knowledge of them were too “harassed and intimidated” to speak during the budget hearings.

The findings by Lacson’s office were turned over to the Ombudsman last week, 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.

According to Lacson, the evidence points to Cayetano virtually controlling DPWH operations and related activities in Taguig, with district engineers facing possible dismissal if they acted without his approval, as well as a purported 33-percent kickback structure in the city's infrastructure projects.

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

Overall, Lacson alleged that public funds involved in the alleged anomalous projects in Cayetano's turf 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 dismissed the allegations as "sweeping" and overboard, though he maintained that he will confront the allegations head-on.