The Office of the Ombudsman announced that conflict-of-interest complaints against two members of the House of Representatives, mockingly dubbed “congtractors,” have progressed to a formal preliminary investigation.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano identified the two lawmakers during a media briefing, explaining that the transition out of the confidential fact-finding phase now allows the agency to disclose their identities. The officials under scrutiny are Tarlac 3rd District Representative Noel Rivera and Uswag Ilonggo Party-list Representative Jojo Ang.
“As a general rule kasi, pag fact-finding hindi pa pwede banggitin ang pangalan. But as soon as the case rises to the level of preliminary investigation, pwede na po banggitin. Dalawa na po ‘yung umakyat from fact-finding to preliminary investigation. ‘Yung po ‘yung kay Cong. Jojo Ang at Cong. Noel Rivera,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said during a press briefing.
According to Clavano, the legal complaints center on alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).
The law strictly prohibits lawmakers from holding financial stakes in businesses that secure government contracts, given their direct authority over the national budget.
“The complaint against them involves conflict of interest, so that’s a violation of RA 3019. Bawal po kasi magkaroon ng isang construction firm ang mga congressman dahil ang congressman ang may influence over the budget and any reward to a construction company na nakapangalan sa kanila or can be traced to them via beneficial ownership is a violation of that conflict of interest rule,” he said.
Clavano expressed frustration over how some lawmakers routinely disregard these constitutional boundaries, blending their state responsibilities with private commercial ventures.
“Napakasimple ng rule na ‘yan. Naiintindihan ng lahat bakit nandyan ang rule na ‘yan. Kaso nga lang, madaming congressman at contractor na pinaghahalo ang mga interest. So ‘yung mga contractor na tinatawag, iyon talaga ang bawal na bawal kahit sa Konstitusyon. Mind you, the Constitution is supposed to express the values of the Filipino people,” Clavano said.
“Ang Saligang Batas, in terms of hierarchy of laws, ang pinakamataas. ‘Yon ang compendium o compilation ng lahat ng values ng Pinoy. At nandoon mismo ang bawal ang conflict of interest. Pero ang tanong bakit andaming contractor na nandyan pa rin sa Kongreso? Kaya sine-seryoso talaga namin ito sa Office of the Ombudsman,” he added.
The Ombudsman hinted that more lawmakers could face similar legal actions soon, as other complaints are steadily moving through the pipeline.
“Dalawa po ‘yan ngayon pero magkakaroon pa ng ibang kaso. Aakyat pa sa preliminary investigation,” Clavano said.
The anti-graft official noted that conflict-of-interest violations are relatively straightforward to prosecute since the state does not need to show that the public servant pocketed money from the deal, only that they held an ownership stake in the firm involved.
“Hindi mo kailangan i-prove na nakinabang ang tao sa isang kontrata. Ang kailangan mo lang i-prove ‘yung ownership nung congressman sa construction firm, at iyon ang conflict of interest,” he said.
“That’s the whole point of the preliminary investigation. Papasagutin po natin as part of due process ‘yung mga respondents of those cases,” Clavano added.