Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Wednesday, May 6, said more pieces of evidence may be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman as part of an ongoing inquiry into alleged irregularities in public works projects.

Lacson disclosed that aside from previously discussed matters, additional documents—including lawmakers’ request letters—are being considered as part of their recommendations.

“Ah hindi kasama pero ito isinaklaw ko na rin ‘yung mga letter request ng mga lawmakers. Kasi isa sa recommendation namin ‘yung allocables (Ah, that’s not included, but I also covered the lawmakers’ letter requests. Because one of our recommendations involves the allocables),” Lacson said when asked what evidence had yet to reach the Ombudsman during a Kapihan sa Senado forum. 

He also revealed the existence of a handwritten note from the late former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral, which allegedly detailed project allocations.

“Mayroon pa nga roon na sulat-kamay ni the late Usec. Cabral na nag-allocate talaga siya based doon sa request ng allocables. Nakapag-allocate siya ng ₱500 million na mga projects kay Sen. [Rodante] Marcoleta (“There was even a handwritten note from the late Usec. Cabral showing that she made allocations based on those requests for allocables. She was able to allocate ₱500 million worth of projects to Senator Marcoleta),” he said.

According to Lacson, the document is not yet part of the evidence currently held by the Ombudsman and will be formally submitted.

“Hindi kasama ‘yun sa hawak ng Ombudsman. So, ipadadala namin ‘yun kasi galing mismo ‘yun sa kampo, sa abogado ni dating Usec. Cabral (That is not yet included in what the Ombudsman has. So we will submit it, because it came directly from the camp, from the lawyer of the late Usec. Cabral),” he added.

When asked whether Marcoleta would be included in further investigation, Lacson replied in the affirmative.

“Yes, correct,” he said.

Lacson clarified in a separate interview that requests for project allocations, while he considers them improper, are not necessarily illegal, as such practices have existed in the past.

He explained that even if such requests were acted upon by the DPWH, it would not automatically constitute a violation of law.

“Sabi ko nga, yung request for allocables although sa tingin ko hindi proper pero hindi naman illegal kasi dati naman pinapractice. Pero yung pinagbigyan, given due course yung mga request maski hindi lahat again, hindi pa rin illegal yun pinagbigyan ng DPWH (As I said, the request for allocables, although I think it is not proper, is not illegal because it has been a practice before. But when those requests are acted upon and given due course—even if not all—again, it is still not illegal on the part of the DPWH that approved them),” Lacson said.

However, he stressed that legal issues arise when projects are mishandled by contractors, such as in cases of substandard implementation or so-called “ghost projects.”

“Pero yung binigyan ka ng items tapos sinubstandard ng contractor mo, na-ghost project ng contractor mo, doon may problema. So, yun ang hihimay namin,” he said.

Lacson also shared accounts relayed to him by several congressmen regarding alleged requests for project allocations during the confirmation process of former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan before the Commission on Appointments.

He said some lawmakers claimed that a colleague had “bukol” incident, a colloquial term referring to cornering or monopolizing allocations, leaving others without project shares.

“Nung nilabas ko yung merong isang congressman na nangbukol sa mga kapwa nila congressmen, actually lumapit sila sa akin nung may CA kami. They’re egging me. Tuloy nyo yun senator. Kasi kami yung mga nabukulan (“When I revealed that there was a congressman who ‘nangbukol’—who cornered or took advantage of his fellow congressmen—some of them actually approached me during our Commission on Appointments hearing. They were urging me: ‘Go ahead, Senator. We were the ones who were disadvantaged),” Lacson said.

“Ito yung facts, as narrated to me by some congressmen. Dahil kinoconfirm yung DPWH Secretary, bigyan niyo kami ng projects. At hindi lang ako, kasi marami kami rito. Labindalawa kami rito sa panel ng CA (These are the facts, as narrated to me by some congressmen. Since the DPWH Secretary was being confirmed, they said, ‘Give us projects.’ And it wasn’t just me, because there were many of us there—twelve of us in the CA panel),” he said.

He added that around ₱1.5 billion worth of projects were allegedly requested, but only ₱500 million was granted, leaving other members without allocations.

The senator declined to name other individuals allegedly involved, saying he would not disclose identities at this stage.

Lacson said the inquiry would ultimately focus on determining whether irregularities—particularly substandard or non-existent projects—were carried out by contractors tied to such allocations.