Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson challenged Senator Rodante Marcoleta for allegedly failing to directly deny accusations that he requested P500 million in infrastructure “allocables” from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In a post on X on Friday, Lacson said Marcoleta focused on protesting his inclusion in a Senate presentation but avoided addressing the handwritten note linking him to the alleged request.
“He deliberately missed the most important reaction: deny or refute the handwritten note,” Lacson said.
The issue stemmed from Lacson’s privilege speech delivered earlier this week, where he presented findings and recommendations from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s ongoing investigation into the alleged flood control project scandal.
Among the materials presented was a document allegedly bearing a handwritten notation from the late DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral indicating “c/o Cong Marcoleta” beside a supposed P500-million allocation request for infrastructure projects.
Lacson said the document was provided by Cabral’s camp and would form part of the evidence to be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman for possible fact-finding and case buildup.
Despite the allegation, Lacson clarified that Marcoleta is not yet being recommended for investigation at this stage, although that could change if ghost or substandard projects linked to him are later uncovered.
Marcoleta earlier delivered his own privilege speech criticizing Lacson for including his name in the presentation, but he did not directly deny the alleged P500-million request mentioned in the handwritten note.
Lacson has previously described “allocables” as a modern form of pork barrel, which he said remains vulnerable to abuse and corruption in government infrastructure spending.