Lacson: At least 13 land titles cover 170 hectares of Laguna Lake encroachment

MANILA, Philippines — At least 13 land titles cover 170 hectares of encroachment on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson revealed on Saturday, Sept. 19.

He cited the updated data from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).

According to Lacson in a statement, the PRA update was based on vetted digital and satellite maps, which showed that some of the titled areas are actually underwater.

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READ: DPWH halts alleged illegal reclamation projects in Taguig

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“There are titled areas that are still water,” the senator disclosed.

“When the PRA vetted them using digital and satellite maps, they found that the titles covered even water,” he said.

“These are 13 titles covering an area of 170 hectares on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake,” he divulged.

In a DZMM interview, Lacson also pointed out that 170 hectares on the Taguig side alone account for nearly one-third of an estimated 560 hectares of reclaimed area covering portions of Laguna Lake in Rizal and Laguna.

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With this situation, the lawmaker said it will be a “blessing” if the government will confiscate the 170 hectares of land due to its being a “prime property,” and to avoid it negatively affecting the environment.

However, he reiterated that cases should still be filed against those responsible for this fiasco.

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He guaranteed that he and his office will continue to help the ombudsman and the relevant agencies on the investigations.

It was Lacson who formally submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman at least 45 case studies backed by official documents detailing “systemic anomalies” in flood control infrastructure projects. 

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As a result, the ombudsman launched a fact-finding probe into the allegations involving the projects in Taguig. /apl