LACSON CALLS FOR PROBE INTO CLAIMS LINKING CABINET OFFICIALS TO BUDGET INSERTIONS

SENATE President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson called for a genuine inter-gency investigation into claims linking Cabinet officials to multibillion-peso budget insertions for Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) infrastructure projects, as he warned that prematurely dismissing them risks the perception of a “cover-up.”

Lacson said it is too early for Malacanang to brand claims related to the insertions as “hearsay” especially since significant evidence had been unearthed, mainly from hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee which he chairs.

“Instead of pursuing an honest-to-goodness inter-gency investigation by using whatever probative value was unearthed mainly from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, to prematurely dismiss the probable involvement of some members of the Cabinet as ‘hearsay’ may be interpreted as a euphemism for ‘cover-up,’” Lacson said.

He was referring to Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro’s dismissal of the allegations that some Cabinet secretaries are among proponents of infrastructure budget insertions in 2025 as “hearsay” with “no probative value.” Castro added the Palace would only respond to documents authenticated by the DPWH.

Lacson noted that the evidence generated by the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings include “testimonies, supported by official documents in the budget books like lists of items that corroborate the testimonies of resource persons whose involvement in the plunder of public funds have been clearly established through their admission against interest and under oath at that.”

Also, he cited the possible discovery of the “web of accounts” that would lead to the movements of funds as initiated by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

Lacson said the government cannot afford to ignore and risk fueling public indignation over the extent of corruption behind failed and ghost infrastructure projects.

“In the final analysis, we cannot blame the public, led by the Catholic Church, other religious sectors and civil groups for their unrelenting display of anger and distrust in government,” he said.