Lacson sees broader corruption scandal
MANILA, Philippines — The public may expect a wider corruption probe that will implicate “bigger names” when the Senate Blue Ribbon committee resumes its investigation next month into alleged flood control project anomalies, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.
Lacson declined to provide details as to the identity of the “very important witness” whom he previously said would be invited to the next Blue Ribbon hearing.
But in an interview with “Storycon” on One News, he confirmed that this witness would be able to provide additional details into the alleged corruption scheme involving flood-control projects.
“It’s going to be wider. Some things that didn’t come out in the previous hearing (will surface this time). A new name will come out, a relatively big name,” the senator said in Filipino.
“Let’s leave it at that. Once that person is in front of us, we’ll hear it directly. We just have to wait until Nov. 14. We’ll find out then if (this person will) actually show up,” he added.
Although “all indications show” that this witness will testify, Lacson said it is still difficult to confirm his participation until that person is in front of the committee.
“I’m just saying, the witness is very important because more names could be added – those involved in the payoffs and other modus operandi related to the ghost flood control projects,” he said.
Lacson said the next Blue Ribbon hearing, the earliest of which will be scheduled on Nov. 14, will depend on whether he will be reelected as its chairman when the Senate resumes session.
He earlier resigned after some senators reportedly expressed displeasure over his statements, such as the supposed “insertions” in this year’s budget.
However, Lacson confirmed that he is willing to return as committee chairman, provided that there will be no objections from his colleagues.
“We don’t know what will happen… (But) if elected, I will accept,” he said.
Guteza, Romualdez, Co to be invited
Aside from this “very important witness,” Lacson said they will also invite former Marine Orly Regala Guteza for the continuation of his testimony over the alleged deliveries of suitcases containing millions to the residences of resigned congressman Zaldy Co and former speaker Martin Romualdez.
Co and Romualdez will also be invited to attend the next hearing, with the invite for the latter coursed through the office of Speaker Faustino Dy III.
Lacson confirmed that the executive judge of the Manila Regional Trial Court has completed the investigation into the alleged falsified notary of Guteza’s sworn statement. But he maintained that Guteza’s testimony at the Blue Ribbon hearing on Sept. 25 remains valid since he took his oath before testifying.
As to reports that Guteza can no longer be found, Lacson said they will course the invitation through the offices of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and former congressman Mike Defensor, whom he said were instrumental in his presentation at the Senate.
Citing CCTV videos at the Senate, Lacson said Guteza went to Marcoleta’s office prior to his surprise presentation at the hearing.
DPWH budget to be cut
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate expects to cut roughly P80 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s proposed 2026 budget, citing overpriced, duplicate and unjustified projects identified during the chamber’s budget review.
“There will now just be a small budget reduction. Where the cuts will be are likely with the 50 percent ‘overpriced’ (construction materials) mentioned by the President,” the finance committee chair said after the DPWH’s budget hearing.
“The President figured budget cuts of about P45 billion. We think it would be about P74 billion. Therefore the actual budget cut would be somewhere in between,” he added.
Gatchalian said that based on the panel’s latest computation, around P80 billion could still be trimmed from the DPWH’s proposed P625-billion budget, depending on the department’s final submissions to the Senate by Friday.
Field validation
The DPWH has so far validated 798 out of 946 flagged infrastructure projects for 2026, and has been given until this Friday by the Senate to validate the remaining 148, otherwise their funding will either be redirected towards other public works projects or deleted from the agency’s budget next year.
The Senate finance committee flagged the 946 infrastructure projects for allegedly “reappearing” in the DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget despite having been funded this year.
According to Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, the 798 projects were confirmed to be non-recurring, but stressed the agency’s uncertainty about the remaining 148.
“We didn’t find any irregularity with the 798 projects. All of those were validated given the submissions. For the remaining 148, we don’t know yet. If the committee will not grant us any more time, please feel free to just remove that,” he said during the agency’s budget hearing before the Senate yesterday.
Gatchalian gave the Oct. 31 ultimatum to review the remaining projects, as the Senate’s technical working group will begin budget reconciliations midweek.
Dizon also reported progress in addressing other major red flags raised by senators: the lack of station numbers in thousands of project listings and the duplication of projects.
Out of 4,566 projects initially identified as incomplete, the DPWH has corrected 4,085 unlabeled ones worth P180.2 billion, with only around P21 billion worth of projects left for updating.
“Projects with no station numbers have now been updated with station limits. For school buildings, of course, station limits are not applicable, so the school ID number was used instead so it’s clear that it’s real and not (a) ghost school,” Dizon said.
He added that some lawmakers had written to request the deletion of confirmed duplicates from the agency’s submission.
Sen. Loren Legarda, however, cautioned that removing those projects would also reduce district allocations and suggested that instead of deleting them, the Senate could convert or “amend” them into essential projects.
Gatchalian agreed with Legarda: “Some of them are justified, a lot are overpriced but not all. If we can leave it to DPWH to give us those items that are really overpriced… give them to us so we can amend directly into the budget and then we can realize the savings.”
Dizon agreed in principle but noted that reviewing all 14,000 to 20,000 project line items under the proposed 2026 budget would be “virtually impossible” given time constraints.
“First of all, it’s hard to choose which projects to slash the budget. Obviously, the program of works is different across projects… if this was January or February, we could do that, but unfortunately it would be impossible at this point,” he said.
Gatchalian said the finance committee would consult with senators on how to amend the DPWH’s budget to retain essential projects while ensuring potential savings from overpriced or redundant ones.
“The objective is to save. We’ll find a way,” he said.
The agency’s budget has hurdled the committee, pending the corrections requested.
Chavit slams Marcos anew
Meanwhile, former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson yesterday accused the Marcos administration of orchestrating what he described as “the biggest corruption scheme” he has seen in his decades in government.
In a statement, Singson said the worsening flooding across the country was a result of “a well-orchestrated scheme” within the current administration to misuse national budget allocations for flood control projects.
“I once believed our nation was finally rising – only to see corruption pull it back down again,” Singson said.
Singson said that despite the Marcos administration allocating nearly half a trillion pesos for flood control and implementing over 9,800 projects, flooding has worsened nationwide.
Singson also questioned why the Independent Commission for Infrastructure has not launched a probe into Ilocos Norte, the President’s hometown.
The former Ilocos Sur governor is facing plunder charges at the Office of the Ombudsman, which he claimed as “baseless and politically motivated.”
No more delays
The National Wage Coalition (NWC) said authorities should speed up actions in order to hold accountable those responsible for the graft-ridden flood control projects.
“Openly and quickly hold accountable all those involved in corruption. There should be no power play. There must be no escape,” the NWC said in a statement.
“The charges and the evidence must be strong so that all those who have committed crimes in the country can be convicted and imprisoned forever, no matter how high their posts are or whomever they are,” it added.
The NWC is composed of labor groups Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Mark Ernest Villeza, Rhodina Villanueva