Senator Lacson slams Cayetano siblings for 'interrogating' LLDA Chief

Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Tuesday took aim at sibling Senators Alan Peter and Pilar Juliana "Pia" Cayetano over their interrogation of Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Leopoldo Parumog during Monday's budget hearing, accusing them of turning standard deliberations into a full-blown Senate inquiry.

Lacson noted that the Cayetanos took turns grilling Parumog on matters completely removed from the LLDA’s proposed 2027 budget during Monday’s Senate session.

"DINUMOG SI PARUMOG: They took turns interrogating the hapless LLDA general manager with questions totally unrelated to the agency’s proposed 2027 budget as if it were a full-blown Senate inquiry in aid of legislation," Lacson wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The post was accompanied by a video clip showing the siblings questioning LLDA officials about reclamation activities along the Taguig shoreline—a critical area within the Cayetanos' political stronghold.

During the hearing, the Cayetanos pressed Parumog on why the LLDA provided a "blow-by-blow" public accounting of its operations in Taguig, while failing to publicize its enforcement actions in other jurisdictions with the same level of granularity.

The friction comes amid ongoing tension over the Lakeshore project. Lacson previously cited reports that field officials from multiple agencies, including the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), faced harassment while inspecting unapproved reclamation activities along the Taguig side of Laguna Lake.

Lacson also highlighted a similar pattern during November 2025 deliberations on the Office of the President’s 2026 budget, where he noted that a PRA investigation into the same reclamation activities ground to a halt after pressure from Alan Cayetano. The PRA is an attached agency of the Office of the President.

Earlier this year, Lacson called for a multi-agency task force to tackle illegal reclamation in the area, urging the LLDA, PRA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Land Registration Authority (LRA), and the Office of the Ombudsman to launch a coordinated probe.

According to Lacson, a composite inspection team comprising lawyers and engineers recently submitted fresh video evidence showing unabated illegal dumping and reclamation in the Taguig Lakeshore area. The team was forced to request police escorts due to security concerns on-site.