All unpermitted reclaimed areas in Taguig City—whether belonging to the local government or to private individuals or entities—are subject to forfeiture in favor of the national government.

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson disclosed this on Monday, August 10 saying this was made clear by officials of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to him and his staff, as well as with officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“All reclaimed areas that did not apply and secure permits from PRA are subject to forfeiture in favor of the national government. There is no distinction, whether those reclaimed areas belong to the LGU of Taguig or are titled under private individuals or corporate entities,” Lacson said.

Moreover, the PRA and DPWH have agreed that the latter will begin issuing cease-and-desist orders covering ongoing slope protection and mitigation projects in that area, following the discovery of 32 anomalous and suspected ghost projects in Taguig.

Lacson also pointed out that the denials made by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano in his Facebook Live broadcasts are contradicted by the facts established so far by him and his team, and validated by the concerned agencies.

“In sum, Sen. Cayetano’s denials on his FB Live postings all run counter to the facts as established so far, not only by my team, but validated by PRA and DPWH and Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) in their earlier statements,” he said.

Lacson also said the Office of the Ombudsman will soon initiate its fact-finding investigation into his and his team’s disclosures on the anomalous projects in Taguig City.

This was after Lacson and his team turned over to the Ombudsman all the records and documents culled from the General Appropriations Acts (GAA) and official government websites, including the relevant photos.

“In due time, the Ombudsman will issue subpoenas duces tecum and ad testificandum to DPWH and private witnesses after we also turned them over with their affidavits to the Ombudsman,” he said.