Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has again defended the Laguna Lakeshore project, highlighting the remarkable progress of the Laguna Lake within the jurisdiction of Taguig City in recent years and its vast untapped potential.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson (Facebook)

Cayetano, in a recent Facebook livestream, also called for better stewardship of God’s creation, as he defended his city’s decision to pursue infrastructure projects within the Lakeshore.

“Nung congressman pa ako ng 1998, naging passion ko na po kung paano pagandahin ang Laguna Lake. Nagkaroon lang po siyempre ako ng opportunity sa side ng Taguig dahil nga ito ang aking home city… Napakarami po kasing gamit ng lake (Back when I was a congressman in 1998, improving Laguna Lake became a passion of mine. Naturally, I had the opportunity to focus on the Taguig side since it is my home city... After all, the lake has so many uses),” Cayetano said in two August 27 live streams along the Taguig Lakeshore.

“Ang pagiging sa gobyerno, ang pagiging public servant — hindi po kami ang may-ari ng resources… Kami po ay stewards, tagapamahala lang. Lahat ng tao kahit na wala sa gobyerno, meron po tayong obligasyon maging good stewards (Being in government, being a public servant—we do not own the resources... We are merely stewards, managers. Everyone, even those outside of government, has an obligation to be good stewards),” he said.

Cayetano related the City of Taguig's lakeshore projects as concrete acts of stewardship, designed to protect the lake from erosion, pollution, and illegal settlements while ensuring public access for all.

“Nung ginawa y’ung C6 or road dike, basically, pinoprotect po y’ung lakeshore. And part of its protection is not only na huwag mag-erode, (but para) hindi bahayan ng informal centers kasi kung mabahayan yung dumi, dito mapupunta sa lawa. The other thing is to make it for public use (When you built the C6 or road dike, basically, you were protecting the lakeshore. And part of its protection is not only to prevent erosion, (but to) not house informal centers because if they were houses, the waste would end up in the lake. The other thing is to make it for public use),” the senator explained.

Cayetano also countered allegations of land-grabbing by pointing out that the local government actually reserved the area for public use, reversing the historical pattern of private encroachment along the lakeshore.

“May allegations na may kinakamkam kami. Hindi ko lang alam kung pag sinabing kami, kung kaming mga Cayetano, kung ako, o kami ng ibang leaders… Doon sa bandang gitna, marami na pong private (land) kasi may 1,100 hectares ng lupa na nasa labas ng road dike. Meron po doon na private property, merong gobyerno (There are allegations that we are appropriating land for ourselves. I am just not sure who is meant by ‘we’—whether it refers to us Cayetanos, just me, or us together with other leaders... In the middle section, there is a lot of private land, as there are 1,100 hectares situated outside the road dike. There are both private properties and government-owned lands there),” he said.

“Pero ito lahat po, precisely ni-reserve at ginawan ng paraan ng local government na maging public para hindi kamkamin. So baliktad sa allegation na kinakamkam. Titingnan niyo po y’ung history. Maraming kumakamkam po ng lupa dito. Pero ang history po ng Cayetano ay tumutulong na maging good stewards para sa gobyerno (But all of this was precisely reserved and secured by the local government for public use to prevent it from being seized by private interests. So, the allegation that it is being grabbed is the exact opposite of the truth. If you look at the history—there are many who do grab land here. But the Cayetanos’ track record shows they help act as good stewards for the government),” he emphasized.

On Saturday, August 29, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson released further information and identified four parcels of illegally reclaimed land in Taguig which he said have been issued fraudulent land titles, while four others lack plotted title lots in the Land Registration Authority’s (LRA) digital file.

Lacson said his public disclosure of the details of the initial findings is to dispel insinuations that his earlier exposes on illegal reclamation activities in Taguig City were “fake news.”

“Since Senator Cayetano keeps publicly asking for evidence, I’ll give it to him, in the spirit of public interest,” he said.

In response, Cayetano again, took to Facebook livestream to refute Lacson’s allegations, referring to the former national police chief as a “Marites” and a “Senator-Judge Troll.”

“That senator-judge has been trolling me almost every day. It’s all just gossip, or, as they say, inconclusive, argumentative, and hearsay,” Cayetano said.

“So, if Senator Lacson—our senator-judge-troll—wishes to inspect the developments at the lake, he is most welcome,” he stressed.