Sen. Ping Lacson had this accusation against 67 congressmen
Senator Ping Lacson claimed that sixty-seven (67) members of the House of Representatives in 2022 were contractors of their own infrastructure projects funded by the government.
Lacson, being a member of the Senate minority and chair of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, raised the concern as he intends his broader call to audit billions of pesos in flood control funds will be heard, with more focus on those that were allegedly inserted during the 2025 national budget bicameral conference deliberations.
The Senator reportedly came to know about this after his private conversation with a fellow lawmaker at the start of the 19th Congress.
Based on the article in the Inquirer, Lacson said that back then, there were 67 solons who were involved in construction contracting. This was either directly or through the people related to them by blood. With this, these solons had full control over the projects.
In an interview on DZRH, Sen. Ping Lacson said that he asked how many contractors are now in the House of Representatives. His source said that according to the recent count, it was already 67.
“Sabi ko ilan ba kako ngayon, sa bilang mo, ilan ang contractor dyan sa Batasan? Sabi niya ang huling bilang ko sa ngayon 67 pero alam ko mayroon pang iba,” he said, adding that this encouraged others to be contrators, or their relatives would enter in this line of business with the intention of “maka-menos.”
Sen. Ping Lacson had this statement after the fierce “Mahiya naman kayo” statement by President Bongbong Marcos at his 4th State of the Nation Address last week, rebuking unnamed officials who are not serving the people properly.
The Senator said that he was happy that PBBM said that during his speech. On the other hand, Lacson said that there should be a follow-through.
For the Senator, the flood control projects are among the “most notorious” sources of corruption right now. It was alleged that kickbacks would reach 50 percent of the cost of a single project.
“Meron nga naikwento sa akin… 50 proyekto na sabay-sabay na tagpi-₱50 million, sa isang lugar ito ha. Isipin mo, 50 proyekto na iisang backhoe halos ang ginagamit,” the lawmaker shared.