Lacson says probe into Taguig projects identifies 3 alleged bagmen

Sen. Panfilo Lacson — File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta/INQUIRER MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Friday said his investigation into the infrastructure projects in Taguig City has so far identified at least three alleged “bagmen.” Lacson made the disclosure as he discussed the progress of his team’s investigation into projects in Taguig, the political bailiwick of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, whom he accused of attacking his integrity amid their ongoing public feud. “I initially thought he had only one bagman, but it now appears that at least three bagmen have been identified so far,” Lacson said in an interview with DZMM. Article continues after this advertisement Lacson did not identify the alleged bagmen or provide details about their supposed roles. READ: Lacson hints anew at more ‘damning evidence’ in Taguig infra projects The senator also said several people had voluntarily approached his camp with information after he began publicly discussing alleged anomalous projects in Taguig, although his team was still vetting the information it received. Lacson further acknowledged that his public feud with Cayetano prompted him to “prioritize” looking into Taguig, but maintained that he was not singling out the city. “If you attack my integrity, I will fight back and retaliate… I’m just prioritizing it, not singling it out. I’m prioritizing it because of all his noise,” he said. Article continues after this advertisement Lacson’s team has been scrutinizing infrastructure projects in Taguig, including suspected ghost projects, overlapping project spans and two P100-million appropriations that he said had identical locations and descriptions. Cayetano has since maintained that there are no ghost projects in Taguig and challenged Lacson to produce evidence to support his allegations. Article continues after this advertisement Lacson is also considering submitting the evidence gathered by his team directly to the Office of the Ombudsman instead of first bringing the matter before the Senate blue ribbon committee, saying this could speed up the investigation. The Inquirer has yet to receive a response from Cayetano regarding the matter as of posting time. /das Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.