Taguig projects face deeper investigation

Malacañang on Monday called for a more thorough investigation into the questioned flood control projects in Taguig City, warning that any attempt to conceal irregularities would not be tolerated amid the conflicting findings raised by Senator Panfilo Lacson and Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Taguig projects questioned by Lacson were not among the 10 projects elsewhere that Dizon said had been conclusively established to be ghost or nonexistent projects.

She stressed, however, that this did not clear the Taguig projects of possible anomalies.

“It does not mean there are anomalies in Taguig; he is also not saying there are none,” Castro said in Filipino.

She said the projects require a “more thorough and intensive investigation” to ensure there is no cover-up, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants a probe that protects no one — especially political allies.

The Palace statement came days after Dizon told a Senate budget hearing that the DPWH had so far found no ghost projects in Taguig.

“Based on our investigation, there are none,” said Dizon when he was asked by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III said the department had identified 107 projects in Taguig and that all had reported accomplishments. Dizon nevertheless said the investigation was continuing.

Lacson challenged Dizon’s statement, citing DPWH inspection reports that he said raised questions over projects reported as completed but whose completion could not be verified.

One case involved billing records for a Taguig project that photographs supposedly carried geotags pointing to the project being in Leyte, some 600 kilometers away. Lacson asked Dizon to explain why his own department’s findings should not raise a red flag.

The senator also cited a DPWH image-similarity analysis covering 15,523 photographs from 180 Taguig contracts between 2017 and 2025. The system flagged 1,079 image pairs for high visual similarity, though the flags alone did not establish that a project was fictitious.

Dizon-Cayetano ties

On Monday, DAILY TRIBUNE reported that the questions renewed scrutiny of Dizon’s longstanding professional relationship with Cayetano and members of his family.

Dizon served as a consultant to Cayetano when the senator was Senate majority leader beginning in 2013. Their professional paths later crossed during preparations for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, when Cayetano chaired the organizing committee, and Dizon headed the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, which developed the sports facilities in New Clark City.

Dizon has also appeared at government activities with members of the Cayetano family over the years, including Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano. In April, Dizon joined Alan Peter and Lani Cayetano in inspecting the construction of Taguig’s new Hall of Justice.

The documented relationship does not establish that Senator Cayetano influenced the DPWH investigation.

Cayetano has accused Lacson of conducting a “demolition job,” a “trial by publicity,” and “witch hunt” against Taguig, while Lacson has continued releasing documents he says warrant further investigation.