Iloilo lawmaker hit with 14 graft counts over DPWH deals

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Uswag Ilonggo Rep. James Ang Jr. continued to face corruption allegations after the Office of the Ombudsman filed anti-graft charges before the Sandiganbayan on Saturday, July 25, over his former stake in an Iloilo-based construction firm.

The Ombudsman filed 14 separate charges of violating Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The provision penalizes public officers for “directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest.”

The cases were raffled the same day among the anti-graft court’s seven divisions.

In a statement, the office attributed the cases to Ang’s alleged financial gain of nearly PHP 199 million after a construction firm he was linked to secured PHP 214 million in contracts with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“Conflict of interest is not a gray area. It does not require proof that a deal was rigged or that cash changed hands — only that a public official profited, or stood to profit, from a government contract while in office. Here, and in many cases, the clear and thick constitutional line is constantly and blatantly being crossed,” the Ombudsman said, as reported by Rappler.

The charges form part of a wider Ombudsman investigation into lawmakers tied to construction firms that secured government infrastructure and flood-control contracts, a controversy that has drawn national scrutiny ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address.

Daily Guardian previously reported that Ang was a stakeholder in Allencon Development Corporation when he was elected as the party-list’s first nominee.

According to DPWH documents, he was also listed as the firm’s president and authorized manager.

The firm’s DPWH contracts also surged after Ang assumed his congressional seat.

The Ombudsman also filed charges before the Sandiganbayan on Saturday against former Sultan Kudarat Rep. Arnulfo Go and several town officials of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, for two counts of graft under Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 and malversation of public funds under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code.

Daily Guardian reached out to Uswag Ilonggo Party-list for a statement, but it had not responded as of this writing.