Metro Manila, Philippines – Former Senator Sonny Angara will be invited in the House infrastructure committee’s investigation into alleged corrupt infrastructure projects, panel co-chairman Terry Ridon said on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
Angara was the Senate finance committee chairman in 2023 and was a member of the bicameral conference committee, which reconciles the differing provisions in the upper and lower chambers’ budget bills.
Ridon said Angara will be asked to clarify the P96-million ghost or non-existent infrastructure project awarded to Wawao Builders, in Plaridel, Bulacan after it was inserted in the 2024 proposed national budget through the closed-door bicameral conference committee.
“We have to invite former senator and now DepEd (Department of Education) Secretary Sonny Angara to shed light dito sa mga sino ang mga [on the] proponents nitong mga [of the] flood control projects na ito na [which are] deemed questionable, deemed ghost, at [and] deemed substandard?” Ridon told NewsWatch Plus’ The Newsmaker.
The House infrastructure committee also sent invitations to former Senator Grace Poe and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, the budget chairpersons last year.
Ridon said he is open to invite Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who exposed that some lawmakers receive kickbacks from infrastructure projects, to be a resource person in the House probe. He, however, noted Magalong’ s remarks to the media.
“He has been questioning the integrity of the House infrastructure committee,” Ridon said.
“I don’t think he has actual personal knowledge on many flood control issues that we have been talking about,” he added.
In the recent infrastructure committee hearing, former Bulacan 1st District assistant engineer Brice Hernandez said Senator Jinggoy Estrada proposed P355 million in projects in Bulacan for this year while Senator Joel Villanueva put in P600 million in 2023.
Hernandez said the senators received a 30-percent kickback when the projects appeared in the General Appropriations Act.
