Lacson pushes 'retribution plus restitution' for infra plea deals

Senate President Pro Tempore Panflio "Ping" Lacson is pushing for a "retribution plus restitution" formula, offering those involved in anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects a shorter jail time in exchange for returning at least 80% of their stolen money to the government.

In a statement on Saturday, Lacson said the government and taxpayers can potentially get back an initial P26 billion from contracted flood control "ghost" or non-existent projects between 2023 and 2025 worth P629 billion.

"A simple extrapolation using the initial finding of 421 contracted ghost flood control projects out of the 8,000 (5.26%) so far inspected by the AFP/PNP/DepDev composite team as standard, with an aggregate total amount of at least P629 billion worth of flood control contracted projects in 2023-2025, if all those responsible—contractors, politicians and Department of Public Works and Highways officials—will return just 80% of their loot, after a plea bargaining agreement in exchange for shortened jail terms, easily the Filipino people can recover at least P26 billion," the senator explained.

Lacson referenced the 421 alleged ghost flood control projects out of 8,000 inspected by the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over the past weeks. 

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has said the 421 projects were validated as "ghosts" and found to be mostly in Luzon.

"Imagine the hundreds of billions in taxpayers' money that we may be able to recover out of all the other similarly corrupted infrastructure projects," he added.

The senator said his proposed "retribution plus restitution" formula would still depend on the political will of those conducting the investigations, including the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Office of the Ombudsman, Department of Justice, and the judiciary.

"Of course, everything depends on the political will of those conducting the investigations like the ICI, Ombudsman, DOJ and the judiciary. The President can take the lead and initiative to pursue the direction towards this end. Anyway, he was the triggering mechanism with his famous 'Mahiya naman kayo' (Shame on you) line in his July 28, 2025 State of the Nation Address," Lacson said.

Further, the senator said the government can also recover more by going after the insurance companies of the anomalous infrastructure projects.

Following his resignation as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Lacson said he would focus on the deliberations for the 2026 budget.

The senator added he will also focus on his duties as Senate President Pro Tempore and as chairman of two other Senate committees, namely Accounts and Electoral Reforms and People's Participation. — VDV, GMA Integrated News