On a Thursday in late October, a former public works official gave a short answer to a judge's question about whether any lawmakers had refused commitment fees tied to infrastructure projects, and singled out one senator as the sole exception. The reply, now carried into the open, lands in a long Philippine tradition in which public trust is repeatedly tested by the money that flows around public works. Senator Ping Lacson, a former police chief who has spent decades on both sides of the badge and the ballot, received the testimony as vindication of a reputation he says was never for sale. Yet
Lacson Thanks Ex-DPWH Official for Testimony Naming Him the Only Senator Without Project Commitments
Only Senator Lacson did not have any commitment.
Mark
Why did this one answer from Bernardo travel so far?
Mimi
Because it was specific. A judge asked whether anyone refused kickbacks, and he named exactly one senator, Lacson.
Luke
Worth noting he first said he knew of no congressman who was offered and declined. Then he singled out Lacson as having no commitment. That is one witness's knowledge, not an audit.
Mark
How does Lacson use it?
Mimi
He thanked Bernardo and told the doubters it should end the questioning. He says he never took allocables, leadership funds, bribes or lobby money.
Luke
That denial is his own statement. The testimony supports him, but the two aren't the same kind of evidence.
Mark
Where does Cayetano come in?
Mimi
Last July he questioned Lacson's net worth, saying it seemed to double from the 2022 SALN to 2025. Lacson says it nearly quadrupled over three years out of office and points to his 2023 and 2024 tax returns.
Luke
Those returns haven't been described publicly in this reporting. We have his explanation, not the documents.
Mark
And the Taguig claims?
Mimi
Lacson says his staff found infrastructure irregularities and illegal reclamation in Cayetano's home base.
Luke
Those are his assertions. No finding or response from Cayetano appears here, so that remains unknown.
Le Pouls
- A former DPWH undersecretary's offhand courtroom answer has become a public verdict on one senator's integrity, pulling the Senate into a fresh quarrel.
- Lacson publicly thanked the witness and swore he had rejected pork, leadership funds, and bribes, invoking his parents and his years in police work.
- Cayetano's earlier questions about a doubled net worth still hang in the air, with Lacson countering that his wealth nearly quadrupled after leaving office through legitimate income.
- Lacson now says his staff uncovered infrastructure irregularities and illegal reclamation in Taguig, Cayetano's home base, a claim that could widen the feud.
- The dispute is set to hinge on whether Cayetano answers the Taguig allegations and whether the testimony holds up under further scrutiny in court.
On a Thursday in late October, a former public works official gave a short answer to a judge's question about whether any lawmakers had refused commitment fees tied to infrastructure projects, and singled out one senator as the sole exception. The reply, now carried into the open, lands in a long Philippine tradition in which public trust is repeatedly tested by the money that flows around public works. Senator Ping Lacson, a former police chief who has spent decades on both sides of the badge and the ballot, received the testimony as vindication of a reputation he says was never for sale. Yet the matter remains a witness's account offered in a courtroom, and it joins an older rivalry with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano over wealth and its origins.
On Thursday, Roberto Bernardo, a former public works undersecretary, was answering questions from Associate Justice Ronald Moreno of the Sandiganbayan-linked hearing. Asked whether he knew of any project proponents who had not paid commitment fees or kickbacks, he said he knew of no congressman who had been offered such money and refused it, with one exception: Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, who, he said, had no commitments at all.
On Friday, Lacson thanked Bernardo publicly and said the testimony should settle the doubts of skeptics. He declared that he had never asked for or accepted allocables, leadership funds, bribes, or lobby money in any capacity, and called his integrity the greatest inheritance from his parents. He recalled rejecting pork throughout his career, turning down bribes from gambling operators and criminals, and declining rewards offered by families of kidnap victims he had helped rescue.
The statement revisits a clash from July, when Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano questioned why Lacson's declared net worth appeared to double between his 2022 and 2025 filings. Lacson answered that his wealth had nearly quadrupled over the three years he was out of government, since leaving the Senate on June 30, 2022, and that it came from legitimate sources documented in his 2023 and 2024 income tax returns.
Lacson also says that after Cayetano's remarks, he and his staff found irregularities in infrastructure projects and illegal reclamation in Taguig City, Cayetano's political base. These findings are his own account, and no ruling has been issued on them. What comes next is whether Cayetano responds to the Taguig claims and whether Bernardo's testimony is tested further. For now, a single witness's answer to a single question has become part of a broader political argument between two senators.
On Thursday, a former public works undersecretary was asked a plain question by a judge, and his answer has now become a political talking point. Roberto Bernardo, formerly of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), was responding to clarificatory questions from Third Division Associate Justice Ronald Moreno. Moreno reportedly asked whether he knew of any project proponents who did not receive commitment fees or kickbacks.
Bernardo said he knew of no congressman who had been offered such money and turned it down. The only exception he named was Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, saying that only Lacson did not have any commitment.
On Friday, October 30, Lacson thanked Bernardo publicly. He said the testimony should settle matters for skeptics who have questioned his integrity. In his statement, he told the naysayers he had never asked for or accepted allocables, leadership funds, bribes or lobby money in any capacity in government. He called his integrity the greatest inheritance from his parents, whatever their station in life, and said no amount of doubt could take it away.
The former national police chief said he has rejected "pork" in all its forms throughout his years as a law enforcer and as a lawmaker, along with bribe offers disguised as lobby money. He recalled that in police work he turned down bribes from gambling operators and other criminal figures. He also politely declined rewards offered by grateful relatives of kidnap-for-ransom victims whom he and his men had rescued.
The statement also looks back to a dispute from last July. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano questioned the rise in Lacson's declared net worth, saying it seemed to have doubled between his 2022 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and his 2025 filing. Lacson answered then, and repeats now, a promise to defend his integrity. He clarified that his net worth had almost quadrupled across the three years he was out of government, having left the Senate on June 30, 2022. He said his wealth came from legitimate means, as shown in his income tax returns for the taxable years 2023 and 2024.
According to Lacson, after Cayetano's insinuation he and his staff uncovered various irregularities involving infrastructure projects, as well as illegal reclamation in Taguig City, which is Cayetano's political bailiwick. Those findings are Lacson's own account, and the source does not describe any ruling on them.
What to watch is whether the Taguig claims draw a formal response from Cayetano, and whether Bernardo's testimony before the court is tested further. The exchange so far is one witness's answer to one judge's question, now being used in a wider political argument between two senators.
Citations marquantes
I have never asked for or accepted allocables, leadership funds, bribes, or lobby money in any capacity in government.— Sen. Panfilo Lacson
Only Senator Lacson did not have any commitment (paraphrased from testimony).— Roberto Bernardo, former DPWH Undersecretary
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