Cayetano denies ghost projects in Taguig

MANILA, Philippines — Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday denied Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s allegation that there are ghost flood control projects in Taguig, insisting that government agencies had found no such anomalies.

On his Facebook livestream, Cayetano challenged Lacson to present evidence to support the claim.

“There are no ghost projects in Taguig. If you can show one, someone should be held accountable,” he said.

Cayetano said the Office of the Ombudsman had previously looked into projects in Taguig and found no ghost projects, adding that another law enforcement agency had also conducted its own review with the same result.

He said his office also reviewed the city’s infrastructure projects, after allegations of irregularities surfaced, and found no projects that were paid for and not implemented.

Cayetano urged the Department of Public Works and Highways to require district engineers and local government units to document completed projects to help verify allegations of ghost projects.

He also accused Lacson of unfairly singling out Taguig despite flood control issues raised in other local governments such as in Quezon City and Manila, saying investigations should cover all areas instead of concentrating on one city.

Blue Ribbon to probe Taguig projects

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who chairs the Blue Ribbon committee, has said the panel will investigate flood control projects in Taguig.

Cayetano had previously dared the Blue Ribbon to pursue the probe.

Tulfo said Cayetano’s own brother, PTV general manager Lino Cayetano, has asked authorities to scrutinize flood control projects in Taguig.