Lacson answers Cayetano’s challenge with ‘fraudulent’ Taguig land titles

Senator Panfilo Lacson publicly disclosed details of four parcels of allegedly illegally reclaimed land in Taguig City that he said were issued “fraudulent” titles, answering Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s repeated calls for evidence of supposed irregularities in the city.

The four properties, covering a combined 388,308 square meters or about 38.83 hectares, will be turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman for further investigation, Lacson said.

“Since Sen. Cayetano keeps publicly asking for evidence, I’ll give it to him, in the spirit of public interest,” Lacson said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Lacson noted that he released the initial findings to dispel allegations that his earlier disclosures about irregularities involving reclamation and infrastructure projects in Taguig were “fake news.”

The senator identified four parcels with alleged irregularities in their titling processes.

One property covering 9,204 square meters was processed through an administrative patent and issued an Original Certificate of Title, while another 5,000-square-meter parcel went through judicial or ordinary land registration processing.

A third property, measuring 181,077 square meters, was covered by a homestead patent and issued a Transfer Certificate of Title, followed by a fourth parcel covering 193,027 square meters and was also issued a TCT.

Lacson withheld the names of the title holders and the specific OCT and TCT numbers, citing the ongoing investigation.

He also disclosed that four other parcels have no plotted titled lots in the Land Registration Authority’s (LRA) digital records.

“All of these will likewise be turned over to the Ombudsman fact-finding team for their further appropriate action,” Lacson said.

The disclosure marks the latest escalation in the public dispute between Lacson and Cayetano, whose political bailiwick includes Taguig.

Cayetano has repeatedly denied knowledge of any “ghost” projects or anomalies in the city and has challenged Lacson to identify the specific projects and present evidence linking alleged irregularities to him.

Lacson earlier said the LRA  was tracing the history of titles covering some 38.83 hectares of allegedly illegally reclaimed land on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake.

He mentioned that the titles under scrutiny were identified based on materials provided by the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).

“I requested the LRA to backtrack the history of the issued OCTs and other modes of titling, so we will find out how they were manipulated with the end in view of filing criminal charges against those responsible,” Lacson said.

He added that the titles could be declared void from the beginning, or void ab initio, should the PRA initiate forfeiture proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman has also issued subpoenas to the LRA, the Taguig Registry of Deeds, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the PRA as part of the ongoing investigation.

The dispute between Lacson and Cayetano began in July after Lacson accused Cayetano of crossing the line by questioning the increase in his personal net worth. 

The exchange later expanded into allegations involving flood control projects and reclamation activities in Taguig.

Cayetano had yet to issue a new statement on Lacson’s latest disclosures as of posting time.