Photo courtesy of Ping Lacson/Facebook.
Four parcels of allegedly illegally reclaimed land in Taguig City bearing fraudulent titles were identified by investigators, Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson disclosed in a post in social media.
Accordingly, Senator Lacson shared that the information gathered would now be forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) for thorough analysis and appropriate disposition.
He cited that the latest development is part of the ongoing probe into Taguig City’s infrastructure and reclamation works even as he noted that at least four parcels of unlawfully reclaimed property have surfaced so far.
Lacson claimed that the initial probe indicated that the parcels of land covered areas ranging from 5,000 to 193,027 square meters and were processed through various patent and land registration procedures, namely:
(a) via Administrative Patent issued to… (name withheld at the moment) covering an area of 9,204 sq meters under OCT No. (xxx);
(b) through Judicial/Ordinary Land Registration Processing covering an area of 5,000 sq meters issued to… (xxx) under OCT No. (xxx);
(c) via Homestead Patent issued to… (xxx) involving 181,077 square meters under TCT No (xxx);
(d) 193,027 sq meters issued to… (xxx) under TCT No. (xxx).
Moreover, he further disclosed that there are four other parcels with no plotted titled lots in the Land Registration Authority (LRA)’s digital records.
“Documents related to the properties will be turned over to the Ombudsman’s fact-finding team for appropriate action,” the senator asserted.
Prior to this, Lacson announced that the Ombudsman has issued subpoenas to the LRA, Taguig Registry of Deeds, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) amid the ongoing flood control scandal investigation into Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s bailiwick.
“Since (Senator) Cayetano keeps publicly asking for evidence, I’ll give it to him, in the spirit of public interest,” he stressed.
Amidst the allegations, Cayetano has consistently maintained that to his knowledge, there are no ‘ghost’ projects in Taguig City, emphasizing that he was prepared to respond to the accusations once Lacson specified the projects and evidence linking the irregularities to him.
The two senators have been in conflict since July after Lacson told Cayetano he had crossed the line by questioning the increase in his personal net worth.
The former Philippine National Police chief later alleged that there were anomalies in the flood control projects and reclamation works in Taguig City, which prompted the investigation.