Lacson dares Alan Cayetano: Name people I 'threatened' over Taguig infra issue

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson challenged Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano to name individuals he allegedly threatened in relation to the Taguig infrastructure issue he previously flagged.

In a statement on Sunday, Lacson called Cayetano’s allegations a “tale spin” that seemed to betray his panic on the issue.

"Spinning tales betrays panic but like guilt, it will never go away. Sen. Cayetano should name the 'individuals' he alleged I threatened, so I can properly address this new issue point by point," Lacson said.

In a livestream on Saturday, Cayetano claimed to have received “feelers” that some parties were being pressured by Lacson.

“Lately, ang daming nag-send ng feelers na, ‘Sen, Kuya Alan, paano yun? Naiipit kami kasi si Senator Lacson pinipilit na may masama kahit walang makita. Tapos natuklasan nga namin na siya, staff niya, ibang kaibigan nilang lawyers, may affidavit na tapos sinusubok. Pinipilit yung iba na sila pumirma. Tapos may pananakot pa,” Cayetano said.

(Lately, a lot of people have been reaching out, saying, “Senator, Kuya Alan, what should we do? We are being pressured because Senator Lacson insists that something is wrong even though nothing has been found. Then we discovered that he, his staff, and some lawyer friends already have an affidavit and are trying to get others to sign it. There are also threats.)

Cayetano declined to elaborate but cited an alleged incident involving six contractors whom Lacson supposedly threatened with plunder charges if they refused to sign a document.

Lacson previously called for a multi-agency probe into the alleged reclamation activities in Taguig City, after flagging that the alleged illegal activities were continuing at the site.

“Tuloy-tuloy ang illegal reclamation sa Taguig side ng Laguna Lake. Somebody feels he is above the law,” Lacson said in an October 2 post on X.

(Illegal reclamation on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake continues. Somebody feels he is above the law.)

At present, Lacson said at least 45 case studies of “systematic anomalies” in flood control projects in Taguig have been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, which has been prompted to initiate a fact-finding investigation. —Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/RF, GMA News