Tarlac lawmaker faces plunder rap over P600-M projects
The Congressman, together with his wife, Vice Mayor Evelyn Rivera, and DPWH Tarlac 1st District Engineer Neil Farala will face the charges over an alleged securement of government contracts amounting to P600 million since from a company owned by the couple.
United Pilipino Against Crime and Corruption (UPACC) filed a plunder complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday against Congressman Noel Rivera of 3rd District Province of Tarlac for alleged more than half a billion misused funds, including flood control projects. According to Pyra Nucum Lucas of UPACC the 3G Construction Corporation is owned by Cong. Rivera personally signed the contracts in Tarlac awarded to the said construction company.| Photo: Ralph Rirao
United Pilipino Against Crime and Corruption (UPACC) went to the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday to file a plunder complaint, among other charges, against Congressman Noel Rivera of the 3rd District of Tarlac over the alleged misuse of more than half a billion pesos in public funds.
The congressman, together with his wife, Vice Mayor Evelyn Rivera, and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Tarlac 1st District Engineer Neil Farala, faces allegations of securing government contracts worth ₱600 million through a company owned by the couple.
According to the website sumbongsapangulo.ph, Tarlac City ranks as the fourth-largest recipient of flood control funding in the country, amounting to ₱18.5 billion.
Congressman Rivera began his political career as a barangay captain and president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Concepcion in 2010. He rose to become congressman in 2022.
UPACC founder Pyra Nucum Lucas claimed that Congressman Rivera owns a construction company in Tarlac called Tarlac 3G Construction & Development Corporation and that several awarded projects were personally signed by Rivera himself.
“He is a sitting congressman since 2022 and was re-elected this 2025, but he is also a contractor, and what's worse, he is the one signing the contracts with the DPWH," Lucas said in Filipino.
According to Lucas, around 30 contracts were awarded to the company, not limited to flood control projects but also including the construction of health centers and other infrastructure in the province.
“It varies, there are health centers, there's flood control. But for us, this is not right for a sitting congressman, he did not even divest, you can see that he himself is the one signing the contracts of DPWH,” Lucas emphasized.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Evelyn Rivera is also included in the complaint. According to UPACC, the vice mayor serves as the treasurer of Tarlac 3G, raising further concerns of conflict of interest involving the couple.
Furthermore, Lucas alleged that the couple lives a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with their income as public officials.
“Their mansions, their resorts in Zambales, their lands—they have more or less 80 hectares in one area in Concepcion. They have one mansion, which stands on 7 hectares in Barangay San Vicente, Concepcion, Tarlac," Lucas explained.
Other charges included in the complaint are violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (R.A. 3019), Unexplained Wealth (R.A. 1379), Government Procurement Act (R.A. 12009), as well as Abuse of Authority, Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, Grave Misconduct, and Serious Dishonesty.