SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday declared there would be no “ceasefire” after exposing alleged anomalies involving infrastructure projects in Taguig City, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
Lacson did not name who called for a ceasefire but said it was from “someone who had arbitrarily and indiscriminately opened fire without provocation.”
He also called the offer “hypocrisy aimed at buying time to recover and reconsolidate for his next sneaky move.”
“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 a statement posted on his social media.
The apparent peace overture came after Lacson bared “damning evidence” of double billing and other irregularities involving slope protection and other projects in Taguig City.
On Tuesday, Lacson announced that his office had turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman all the documentary and testimonial evidence they had gathered from his office’s investigation into infrastructure projects in Taguig.
He said they uncovered irregularities, including ghost projects, double appropriations and recycled photos from previously completed contracts used to bill and collect for new ones.
Lacson also said he would present the “delicious” details of the anomalies during the continuation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings on the flood control scandal.
Cayetano has maintained that there are no ghost projects in the city and described Lacson’s accusations as “general” and “sweeping.”
He also said he was prepared to answer the accusations and that the public deserved to know the “whole truth” through the proper process.
“I was just informed that Senator Lacson filed evidence with the Ombudsman. I welcome that because, in the same manner that I tell everyone there must be accountability, the same applies here. All I’m saying is that these matters should be addressed at the proper venue and at the proper time,” Cayetano said during a Facebook livestream.
