By ALFRED GABOT and CLAIRE MORALES TRUE

Editor in Chief and Managing Editor

PASAY CITY/QUEZON CITY – As anger over multi-billion-peso ghost and defective flood control projects intensified through rallies and protests, including at University of the Philippines Diliman, some of them becoming violent, the names of Speaker Martin Romualdez, Rep. Zaldy Co and former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan surfaced in Congressional investigations who could be behind or part or simply linked to the scandal. 

Aside from Romualdez and Co, formerly chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations whose name is linked to some construction companies like Sunwest which he himself had founded, at least two senators, and 17 congressmen and several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and engineers were also tagged in separate investigation by the Senate and the House.  (See related stories)

Co, who flew to the United States for alleged medical reasons amid the heat of the scandal investigations, with alleged knowledge of Speaker Romualdez, was responsible for budget insertions totalling P13 billion in the controversial 2025 budget, Rep. Toby Tiangco (Navotas City) told the Senate hearing. From US, Co denied the allegations.

Former Bulacan first district assistant engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, on the other hand,  claimed in the House investigation and in handwritten affidavit that Sens. Jose Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva were involved in “dumping” millions of funds for alleged anomalous flood control projects.

Hernandez also claimed his former boss, Henry Alcantara, was also involved and received millions of pesos in kickbacks supposedly intended to higher officials .

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, meanwhile, moved to overhaul the department with new officials, filed complaints against those linked to the flood control scandal as he moved around to personally inspect the questionable and ghost projects and wait for the President’s order on an independent commission to look into the scandal.

During questioning by House members, Hernandez expressed fears about his safety as he claimed Estrada allegedly received a 30% kickback from P355 million worth of flood control projects while Villanueva allegedly got 30% from P600 million  worth of projects in 2023 in Bulacan.

 Hernandez showed photos supposedly proving lawmakers’ involvement in the flood-control anomalies, including stacks of money allegedly collected from contractors and were intended for lawmakers and higher DPWH officials. He added he took the photos at the Bulacan first District Engineering office around 2022 to 2023. His boss, Hernandez was in some of the photos with the bundles of money which were shown on national television.

Estrada and Villanueva vehemently denied the accusations as a “big lie” and challenged Hernandez to take lie detector test over his corruption claims.

Villanueva said in a speech before the Senate that he has evidence to prove his innocence.

“I will never ever destroy the name that was given to me by my parents because it is priceless,” said Villanueva, the son of a Christian evangelist and civil rights advocate and congressman Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva.

Romualdez, who is known to be harboring plans to succeed his cousin President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after his term ends in 2028, immediately denied allegations raised by controversial contractors Pacifico Discaya and Cezarah Discaya at a Senate hearing that he allegedly benefited from multi-million-peso bribes purportedly received by his representatives, including congressmen.

The Discayas in the same hearing identified at least 17 congressmen and former congressmen who allegedly demanded and received huge kickbacks from them. They said they kept records of the dates and places where bribes were paid.

In another bombshell that shook the House of Representatives, the Discayaspointed to a system where bagmen allegedly invoked the names of Speaker Romualdez and former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, the former House appropriations chairman, as among the “higher-ups” who demanded the bribes.

The Discaya couple who maybe considered as state witness drew earlier public attention after granting separate interviews to Korina Sanchez-Roxas and Julius Babao during which they showed their mansion with fleet of dozens of European and American luxury cars and SUVs.

In a related development, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, in a second privilege speech at the Senate, linked resigned DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan and his undersecretary Robert Bernardo to MBB Global Properties Corp. owned by the Maglangue family of Candaba, Pampanga which also owns Globalcrete Builders which secured P2.195 billion worth of flood control projects in Bulacan from 2019 to 2024.

Lacson said Bonoan’s daughter, Fatima Bonoan dela Cruz, is treasurer of MBB Global Properties Corp. which has Macy Monique Maglanque, daughter of Candaba Mayor Rene Maglanque, as president and Sunshine M. Bernardo, daughter of DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, as corporate secretary.

Prompted by Lacson’s expose, DPWH Secretary Dizon asked Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla to issue Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against Bonoan, Mayor Maglanque, and the corporate officers of MBB Global Properties Corporation.

In another development, some former generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police led by former Defense chief Renato de Villa, members of the academe, and business groups joined calls for accountability for the anomalous flood control projects.

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David and Archbishop Socrates Villegas and other religious leaders also joined the calls.

In a joint statement, many groups and individuals expressed outrage at government officials, “politicontractors”, private sector parties, as well as their family and relative “who unabashedly flaunt their lavish lifestyles as they steal our hard-earned taxpayer money.”

“We have had enough. We need to escape this vicious cycle. We must reject the system of corruption that kills our fellow Filipinos and erodes our confidence in government,” they stated. 

“We demand that this corrupt system be replaced with a system of transparency, accountability, and people’s participation that makes it harder to be bad and easier to be good,” they added.

Malacañang, meanwhile, urged the controversial contractors to substantiate their claims linking lawmakers and government officials to anomalous flood control projects, saying President Marcos Jr. supports a full investigation but not baseless accusations.

Marcos, at the same time, halted flood control funds as probes tie lawmakers to kickback scandal.

Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed at a press briefing that if credible witnesses can prove alleged links of some lawmakers and local officials to anomalous projects, Marcos would accept the evidence for possible inclusion in cases to be filed.

She added that Malacanang is open to granting protection to the
Discaya couple, who earlier hinted at turning state witnesses.

“I cannot and will not allow lies and name-dropping to pass unchecked. The claim in the Discaya couple’s affidavit that my name was used for commissions is false, malicious and nothing more than name-dropping,” Romualdez said in a statement.

He stressed that Congress only approves the budget and plays no role in releasing funds or implementing projects, including those carried out by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The Speaker warned that anyone who invoked his name for money did so without his knowledge and must be held accountable.

“If anyone invoked my name, they did so without my knowledge and without my consent. I have never, and I will never, accept a bribe from anybody. I have been blessed with the trust of the Filipino people. I do not need — and will never allow myself — to be corrupted by money that does not belong to me,” he said.

Romualdez vowed accountability for anyone exploiting his name, whether in or out of government.

“I will not allow falsehoods to tarnish my integrity or the institution I lead. Under my watch, we will clean the system, punish the guilty, and protect the people’s money,” he said.

Discaya said the House representatives who allegedly extorted from them include:

1. Roman Romulo (Pasig Lone District)
2. James “Jojo” Ang (Uswag Ilonggo)
3. Patrick Michael Vargas (Quezon City 5th District)
4. Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde (Quezon City 1st District)
5. Nicanor Briones (Agap)
6. Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro (Marikina City 1st Distict)
7. Florida “Rida” Robes (formerly of San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan, now mayor of the same city)
8. Eleandro Jesus Madrona (Romblon Lone District)
9. Benjamin “Benjie” Agarao Jr. (Laguna 4th District)
10. Florencio Gabriel “Bem” Noel (formerly of An-Waray)
11. Leody “Odie” Tarriela (Occidental Mindoro Lone District)
12. Reynante Arrogancia (Quezon 3rd District)
13. Marvin Rillo (Quezon City 4th District)
14. Teodorico “Teodoro” Haresco Jr. (formerly of Aklan 2nd District)
15. Antonieta Eudela (formerly of Zamboanga Sibugay 2nd District)
16. Dean Asistio (Caloocan City 3rd District)
17. Marivic Co-Pilar (Quezon City 6th District)

Curlee Discay alleged that Eudela, Rillo, Briones, Arjo Atayde’s father Arturo, Noel, Madrona, and Agarao personally collected kickbacks, while the rest allegedly sent bagmen. He added that he has the contact numbers of the alleged bagmen and can identify them by face.

The DPWH officials named by the Discayas were Eduarte Virgilio (Bicol), Ramon Arriola III (Unified Project Management Office or UPMO), Henry Alcantara (Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office or DEO), Robert Bernardo (Undersecretary), Aristotle Ramos (Metro Manila 1st DEO-Pasig City), Manny Bulusan (North Manila DEO), Edgardo Pingol (Bulacan Sub-DEO), Michael Rosaria (Quezon 2nd DEO),  and Terence Calatrava, former undersecretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.

All the House members denied the Discaya couple’s accusations.

Activist groups, including Kalikasan and People Surge, meanwhile, stormed the St. Gerrard office in Pasig City, threw mud at the gate and spray painted it with slogans. Activists also protested at the Department of Public Works and Highways office in Manila and pelted it with rotten vegetables and water balloons.

Members of Youth Against Kurakot and Akbayan Youth trooped to the St. Gerrard office , with some of them dressed as ghosts — symbolic of the ‘ghost’ projects, they said — and others beating drums to ‘exorcise’ corruption.

Groups with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan meanwhile marched to the House of Representatives, where there was a clash with police guarding the Batasang Pambansa compound.

A protest run was also held at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus calling for systemic change have not been made exclusively by activists.

“We express our outrage at government officials, politicontractors, private sector parties–and their family and relatives — who unabashedly flaunt their lavish lifestyles as they steal our hard-earned taxpayer money,” the participants stressed in joint statement signed by more than 100 organizations and institutions, including the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and Makati Business Club.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has also called for the return of funds lost to corruption, saying many officials and contractors found guilty would still be rich even if that happened “yet the nation remains poor if the funds are not restored.”

It also made an appeal to the youth as the saga of corruption in flood control projects lurches forward: “Use your platforms not only for outrage, but for vigilance. Expose injustice, share facts, demand reforms. Make corruption shameful again.”