Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Monday evening thanked Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vivencio “Vince” Dizon for clarifying that flood control projects in Taguig City remain under investigation for alleged irregularities, even as he cautioned anew against prematurely concluding that there are no ghost projects.

Lacson was referring to Dizon’s clarification that the investigation into some projects in Taguig is still ongoing, and that the irregularities initially identified remain subject to further validation.

In Filipino: Lacson, Nagpasalamat sa Paglilinaw ni Dizon; Nagbabala Muli vs Maagang Konklusyon na Walang ‘Ghost Projects’

“Thank you, Sec. Vince, for the clarification. I agree that preliminary inspection findings on several questionable flood control projects in Taguig—such as those on St. Timothy’s slope protection project—do not automatically prove a project was ‘ghosted,’ but we also cannot definitively conclude that no ‘ghost projects’ exist,” he said on X.

Thank you, Sec. Vince, for the clarification. I agree that preliminary inspection findings on several questionable flood control projects in Taguig—such as those on St. Timothy’s slope protection project—do not automatically prove a project was ‘ghosted,’ but we also cannot…

— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) September 28, 2026

Earlier Monday, Dizon clarified that flood control projects in Taguig City remain under investigation for alleged irregularities—days after he categorically said before a Senate subcommittee hearing tackling the DPWH’s proposed 2027 budget that there were no ghost projects in Taguig.

Dizon said the DPWH has flagged several projects in Taguig and submitted an initial report to the Office of the Ombudsman, “for further validation.” He said they are waiting for the “final report and final action” of the Ombudsman.

The clarification came after Lacson cited findings in the DPWH’s own site inspection reports that appeared inconsistent with Dizon’s earlier statement.

Lacson said the reports, submitted by personnel from the DPWH Bureaus of Maintenance, Quality and Safety, Construction, and Research and Standards, showed that several flood control projects in Taguig had been declared completed but their physical presence on site could not be validated by inspection teams for various reasons.

In some areas, he said inspection teams could not verify potentially anomalous projects because they were covered up by newer projects.

He also cited the DPWH’s analysis of potentially similar billing photographs from Taguig projects from 2017 to 2025. Of 15,523 images processed using an AI-based image similarity detection system, 1,079 pairs were flagged for high visual similarity, involving 180 unique contracts.

Over the weekend, Lacson disclosed details of a “Slope Protection along Taguig River Project” (Contract ID 220B0106), whose geotagged photos attached to its billing reports contained coordinates pointing to Leyte province, some 600 km away from Taguig.

Records on the project showed three locations in Tacloban City reflected in the geotagged photographs. They also showed that the DPWH paid St. Timothy Construction Corp., which is owned by the Discaya family, some P96.5 million for the project.

Lacson noted that the St. Timothy Construction project was not an isolated case but the most “brazen and telling” so far among some 68 projects where red flags had been identified by DPWH inspection teams.

Earlier, Lacson and his team formally submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman at least 45 case studies backed by official documents detailing what they described as “systemic anomalies” in flood control infrastructure projects in Taguig. The Ombudsman subsequently launched a fact-finding investigation into the allegations.

Lacson and his team have also submitted to the Ombudsman evidence they have gathered concerning alleged illegal reclamation and infrastructure projects on the Taguig City side of Laguna Lake.

Also, Lacson warned Dizon that any attempt to cover up the anomalies in infrastructure projects in Taguig may expose those involved to possible criminal liability.

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Lacson, Nagpasalamat sa Paglilinaw ni Dizon; Nagbabala Muli vs Maagang Konklusyon na Walang ‘Ghost Projects’

Nagpasalamat si Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Lunes ng gabi kay Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vivencio “Vince” Dizon sa paglilinaw nito na patuloy pang iniimbestigahan ang mga flood control project sa Taguig City kaugnay ng mga umano’y iregularidad, sabay nagbabala muli laban sa maagang konklusyon na walang mga ghost project.

Tinukoy ni Lacson ang paglilinaw ni Dizon na patuloy pa ang imbestigasyon sa ilang proyekto sa Taguig at ang mga unang nakitang iregularidad ay kailangan pang sumailalim sa karagdagang validation.

“Thank you, Sec. Vince, for the clarification. I agree that preliminary inspection findings on several questionable flood control projects in Taguig—such as those on St. Timothy’s slope protection project—do not automatically prove a project was ‘ghosted,’ but we also cannot definitively conclude that no ‘ghost projects’ exist,” ani Lacson sa X.

Nilinaw ni Dizon na patuloy pang iniimbestigahan ang mga flood control project sa Taguig City kaugnay ng mga umano’y iregularidad—ilang araw matapos niyang tahasang sabihin sa isang Senate subcommittee hearing na tumalakay sa panukalang 2027 budget ng DPWH na walang ghost project sa Taguig.

Sinabi ni Dizon na may ilang proyekto sa Taguig na na-flag ng DPWH at isinumite ang paunang ulat sa Office of the Ombudsman “for further validation.” Sinabi niyang hinihintay pa nila ang “final report and final action” ng Ombudsman.

Ang paglilinaw ay kasunod ng pagbanggit ni Lacson sa mga natuklasan sa mismong site inspection reports ng DPWH na tila hindi tugma sa nauna nang pahayag ni Dizon.

Ayon kay Lacson, ipinakita sa mga ulat na isinumite ng mga tauhan mula sa DPWH Bureaus of Maintenance, Quality and Safety, Construction, at Research and Standards na ilang flood control project sa Taguig ang idineklarang completed ngunit hindi napatunayan ng mga inspection team ang aktuwal na presensya ng mga ito sa lugar sa iba’t ibang dahilan.

Sa ilang lugar, aniya, hindi ma-verify ng inspection teams ang proyekto dahil natakpan na ito ng panibagong proyekto.

Binanggit din ni Lacson ang pagsusuri ng DPWH sa mga billing photograph mula sa mga proyekto sa Taguig mula 2017 hanggang 2025 na posibleng magkakahawig. Sa 15,523 larawang sinuri gamit ang AI-based image similarity detection system, 1,079 pares ang na-flag dahil sa mataas na pagkakatulad, na kinasasangkutan ng 180 magkakaibang kontrata.

Noong weekend, ibinahagi ni Lacson ang mga detalye ng isang “Slope Protection along Taguig River Project” (Contract ID 220B0106), kung saan ang coordinates sa geotagged photos na kalakip ng mga billing report ay tumuturo sa Leyte, na nasa tinatayang 600 kilometro mula sa Taguig.

Batay sa mga rekord ng proyekto, tatlong lokasyon sa Tacloban City ang lumitaw sa mga geotagged photograph. Ipinakita rin ng mga rekord na nagbayad ang DPWH ng humigit-kumulang P96.5 milyon sa St. Timothy Construction Corp., na pag-aari ng pamilya Discaya.

Binigyang-diin ni Lacson na hindi isolated case ang St. Timothy Construction project kundi ang pinaka-“brazen and telling” sa ngayon, kabilang sa humigit-kumulang 68 proyekto kung saan nakapagtala ng mga red flag ang mga inspection team ng DPWH.

Nauna nang pormal na nagsumite sina Lacson at ang kanyang team sa Office of the Ombudsman ng hindi bababa sa 45 case study na suportado ng mga opisyal na dokumento at naglalaman ng tinatawag nilang “systemic anomalies” sa mga flood control infrastructure project sa Taguig. Kasunod nito, nagsagawa ang Ombudsman ng fact-finding investigation sa mga alegasyon.

Nagsumite rin sina Lacson at ang kanyang team sa Ombudsman ng mga nakalap nilang ebidensya kaugnay ng umano’y ilegal na reclamation at mga infrastructure project sa bahagi ng Laguna Lake na sakop ng Taguig City.

Nagbabala rin si Lacson kay Dizon na ang anumang pagtatangkang pagtakpan ang mga anomalya sa mga infrastructure project sa Taguig ay maaaring maglantad sa mga sangkot sa posibleng pananagutan sa kriminal.

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