Lacson flags Laguna Lake 'encroachment'; Cayetano slams 'malicious' intent

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Senator Panfilo Lacson on Saturday flagged 170 hectares of alleged "unauthorized encroachment" in Laguna Lake in Taguig City, even as Senator Alan Peter Cayetano called out the former for selectively scrutinizing his political bailiwick.

In a statement, Lacson said Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) data showed the alleged encroachment in at least 13 titles covering the sprawling areas.

"There are titled areas that are still water. When the PRA vetted them using digital and satellite maps, they found the titles covered even water. These are 13 titles covering an area of 170 hectares on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake," Lacson said in a radio interview.

Lacson said this accounted for one-third of the 560 hectares of reclaimed land covering parts of Laguna Lake in Rizal and Laguna. He said he would continue to help the Office of the Ombudsman and other agencies to get to the bottom of the matter.

Lacson did not name Cayetano in his statement on Saturday, but has been trading barbs with him since July over alleged corruption involving infrastructure projects in the city.

'Pagtutok' sa Taguig

Meanwhile, at about the same time that Lacson released the statement to the media, Cayetano started a Facebook Live stream showing that he was at Laguna Lake.

He said he was engaging in an activity with children, but did not disclose what the activity was.

During the live stream, Cayetano slammed Lacson for what he claimed to be selective justice.

"So sabi ko, kung gaano kapino ang pagtutok niya sa siyudad ng Taguig na kung saan nagwo-work 'yung flood control, na kung saan, walang ghost, na kung saan napakaganda ng lakeshore at model sa buong Laguna Lake pero pine-paint niya in a very malicious way," Cayetano said.

(I said, if he is going to be so critical about the city of Taguig where the flood control works, where there is no ghost, where the lakeshore and model of the whole Laguna Lake is good, but he paints it in a malicious way.)

"Sabi ko for the sake of argument isantabi natin 'yan. Mayroon bang mga ibang lugar sa buong Pilipinas, mayroon nga iba napatunayan na may ghost pero tahimik walang investigation? So, ano po ang sagot nila? Sagot nila hindi dapat Taguig, hindi dapat kay Alan, hindi dapat ang mga Cayetano managot," Cayetano added.

(I said for the sake of argument, let us set that aside. Are there other places in the whole Philippines that were proven to have ghost projects, but this done quietly and without any investigation? What is their answer? They say that it should just be Taguig, it should just be Alan, it should just be the Cayetanos who are accountable.)

GMA News Online has also reached out to Cayetano's office for a response to Lacson's claims of alleged encroachment in Taguig, but it has yet to respond as of posting time. — VDV, GMA News