Rep. Tarriela denies harassment complaint filed with Ombudsman

Congressman Leody “Odie” Tarriela of the Lone District of Occidental Mindoro scored what he termed as a harassment complaint filed against him by a certain Radamalyn Fernando Cardoza before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Ayon sa lumabas na press release, nagsampa sa akin ng kaso si Mr. Cardoza matapos na siya ay gumawa ng “ formal requests [for] copies of public documents from the DPWH-Mindoro District Office,” kaya lang ang kanyang request ay hindi naaksyunan.

Paano naman na naging kasalanan ko na hindi sya nabigyan ng kung ano mang hinihingi nya sa DPWH? At kung wala nga siyang nakuhang kung anuman, ano ngayon ang basehan ng kanyang kaso?" asked Tarriela.

The camp of the congressman said Radamalyn Cardoza styles himself as a broadcaster in the Province of Occidental Mindoro but has been known to be politically opposed to Tarriela.

Apparently, he previously filed a disqualification case against the said congressman in the 2025 elections. Incidentally, Tarriela was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second term with almost 65 percent of the votes cast in the said elections.

“Gaya ng aking inilahad sa ICI noong ako ay boluntaryong humarap noong November 26, 2025, ang aking pangunahing obligasyon bilang isang mababatas ay ang tumulong sa pagpasa ng batas. Hindi ako member ng Committee on Appropriations, ng Bicameral Conference Committee o ng Small Committee. Hindi ako nakikialam sa pag-implement ng mga projects na nakaatangan sa DPWH. Hindi ako nakikisali sa procurement at mga biddings. Wala din akong inuutusan na makialam sa mga bagay na to, at mas lalong hindi ako isang kontratista”, continued Tarriela.

Cardoza was quoted as saying that his complaint was submitted in good faith and was not intended to harass, malign, or prejudice any party. It only seeks a lawful determination of whether probable cause exists.

“Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng nagsampa ng kaso na defensive agad na hindi harassment complaint ang kanyang kaso. Kasi malinaw naman na ang kanyang complaint ay harassment lamang at politically motivated. Sa ngayon ay pinaaaral ko na sa aking mga abogado ang kaso na maaring isampa sa taong ito.”, concluded Tarriela.

The complaint was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman by Cardoza, a resident of the province, who claimed that Tarriela was one of those mentioned by contractor spouses during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing held on 8 Sept. 2025.

The complainant said the contractors mentioned the name of Tarriela multiple times in publicly reported proceedings as one of the lawmakers who "requested or received commissions in connection with the bidding, award, or implementation of flood control infrastructure projects."

Cardoza, in his complaint, stated: "Based on publicly accessible accounts of the hearing, the contractors asserted that the disputed commissions were characterized as a percentage of the overall contract value and were allegedly imposed to ensure the continuity or unimpeded processing of projects, notwithstanding that the authority to implement such projects lies with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)."