Manila, Philippines – Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon denied having a hand in the alleged P150-million insertions in the current budget for road projects in Camarines Sur, rebutting claims made by Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste.
Ridon said he was not yet a member of the House of Representatives at the time the 2025 budget was passed in 2024.
“Kabababalik lang natin sa Kongreso ngayong taon, 30 June 2025, sa ilalim ng 20th Congress,” Ridon said in a statement.
“Kaya paano ako magkakaroon ng insertions sa 2025 budget kung hindi pa ako congressman noong binuo ang budget na ito noong 2024, sa ilalim ng 19th Congress?” he added.
[TRANSLATION: I was just elected to Congress this year, 30 June 2025, under the 20th Congress. How could I have made insertions in the 2025 budget if I was not yet a congressman when that budget was created in 2024 under the 19th Congress?]
Leviste, in an earlier radio interview, named Ridon as one of the lawmakers and public officials implicated in the flood control corruption scheme based on a list he said he obtained from former Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Cathy Cabral.
Cabral, a key figure in the state-led probe into the corruption scheme, fell to her death in a ravine in Benguet, authorities said at the weekend.
“Instead of confusing the public, it will be better if Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste release in full and not in piecemeal the 2025 DPWH project listing with proponents he said including congressmen, senators, public officials and private individuals,” Ridon said in the vernacular.
