Senator Lacson warns DPWH Chief Dizon vs. cover-up of Taguig project anomalies

Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Monday cautioned Public Works Secretary Vivencio "Vince" Dizon against suppressing findings on anomalous infrastructure projects in Taguig City, warning that officials involved in a cover-up could face criminal liability.

Lacson disclosed that he had already turned over pertinent documents to the Office of the Ombudsman, urging Dizon to confront the findings uncovered by the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) own inspection teams.

*"Sinabi ko sa kanya, 'Huwag niyo na itanggi ito kasi nai-submit ko na rin ito sa Ombudsman. Nasa Ombudsman na 'yan. Mapapahamak kayo pagka nagtakip pa kayo diyan. Magpakatotoo na lang tayo pare-pareho,'" *Lacson recalled saying during a radio interview.

The warning followed a weekend phone call from Dizon after Lacson publicly raised red flags over a slope protection project in Taguig. Billing photographs for the project—Contract ID 220B0106, titled "Slope Protection along Taguig River"—featured geotagged coordinates pointing to Tacloban City, Leyte, approximately 600 kilometers away.

According to Lacson, records show that contractor St. Timothy Construction Corp., owned by the Discaya family, received around ₱96.5 million for the project.

Lacson cited the project as a prime example of administrative negligence or fraud, though he emphasized it was merely one of several flagged items.

"Yan lang ang hinighlight ko kasi masyadong brazen—kasi [ang photos nakaturo sa lugar na] 600 km away," he said.

While stopping short of labeling all flagged items as "ghost projects," Lacson insisted that available DPWH findings contradict claims that no ghost projects exist in Taguig.

"Hindi natin kino-conclude na ghost ito, pero hindi rin natin pwedeng i-conclude na walang ghost sa Taguig," he explained. "May project na na-verify nila, hindi nila makita ang proyekto kasi wala sa site... hindi na ma-establish kasi natakpan ng panibagong proyekto."

Conflicting Statements

The controversy escalated after Dizon told a Senate finance subcommittee on Friday that an internal probe yielded no ghost projects in Taguig. DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III reinforced this, stating that all 107 listed projects in the city showed completion or progress.

Lacson argued that these declarations directly contradicted the DPWH’s internal inspection reports from July 23 to 25, which were prepared by five specialized teams from the Bureau of Quality and Safety, Bureau of Construction, Bureau of Research and Standards, and Bureau of Maintenance.

During their phone conversation, Dizon reportedly apologized to Lacson and claimed he was "set up" during the Senate hearing.

Lacson later sent Dizon a video recording of the hearing showing both Dizon's and Bernabe's testimony. He also pointed out that the DPWH website's project verification page abruptly went offline on Sunday when media outlets tried to double-check the slope protection project records—only to become accessible again after Lacson alerted Dizon.

Lacson also noted that prior to the budget hearing, Senate Finance Committee Chair Jose Victor “JV” Ejercito confirmed Dizon had visited the Senate office of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

'Faced with Receipts'

Exposing these inconsistencies, Lacson expressed sympathy for the career engineers whose field findings were dismissed during the budget presentation.

"Ako, naawa sa engineers nila. Kinontradict kayo ng sarili ninyong boss," Lacson remarked. "Noong tumawag si Sec. Vince, sabi niya, 'Sen. Ping, nagulat ako sa Taguig na napunta sa Tacloban.' Sabi ko, 'Nandiyan sa report niyo 'yan, eh.'"

Lacson warned that officials attempting to shield irregularities risk being charged as accessories to a crime.

Looking ahead, Lacson’s team is expanding its probe into other questionable practices in Taguig, including "overlapping projects"—where new contracts swallow unbuilt ones—and "projects for hire," where winning contractors sublet contracts to secondary builders in exchange for royalties.

Lacson reiterated that his disclosures are backed by solid paper trails.

"Ako naman, siguro na-establish ko na ang aking credibility. Hindi ako nagsasalita nang walang resibo," he said. "Napaka-mindful ko pagdating sa fact-checking... Hindi ako mag-e-expose nang hindi kumpleto ang resibo."

-Paraluman News