Lacson flags ‘double appropriation’ for same Taguig slope project

Sen. Panfilo Lacson listens as National Bureau of Investigation chief Melvin Matibag takes the witness stand for the continuation of his cross-examination on Day 9 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on July 22, 2026. — Photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta/INQUIRER MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson flagged a possible “double appropriation” involving two P100-million allocations that appeared to cover the same slope protection project in Taguig City. “From P2.085B as earlier reported we found three P100-M additional slope protection projects for a new total of P2.385B insertions under the 2025 GAA. Two items appear to be double appropriations, involving two (2)-P100M for the same slope protection project. One of the two must be ghost,” Lacson said Wednesday in a post on X. READ: Cayetano to Lacson: No ghost projects in Taguig; don’t single us out Article continues after this advertisement Lacson earlier said his team had documented at least two case studies involving suspected “ghost” infrastructure projects in Taguig, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano. Prior to this, Lacson flagged several slope protection and drainage projects in the city, mostly worth P100 million each, totaling a combined P2.085 billion out of what he claimed were P6.79 billion in insertions under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Of the P6.79-billion budget insertions under the 2025 GAA, Lacson said that 68 out of the 70 projects had been implemented while two projects involving P75 million remained unreleased or unobligated. Lacson has vowed to pursue his investigation to its “logical conclusion” amid his continuing public feud with Cayetano. The Inquirer also sought comment from Cayetano and his team regarding this but has yet to receive a response as of posting time. Article continues after this advertisement Meanwhile, Cayetano has previously denied that there are ghost projects in the city and challenged Lacson to also investigate other cities, not to single Taguig out. READ: Lacson flags 2 suspected Taguig ‘ghost’ projects Article continues after this advertisement The National Bureau of Investigation has also started looking into the alleged ghost infrastructure projects in Taguig following Lacson’s claims. Some of the projects being scrutinized date back to 2019 and 2020, when Cayetano served as speaker of the House of Representatives. /das Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.