Clavano: Lawmaker-contractors should face cases

The Office of the Ombudsman said lawmakers involved in flood control projects through construction firms should face cases if evidence supports allegations of conflict of interest.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said investigations are ongoing into several cases involving congressmen who own or are linked to contracting companies working on flood control projects.

“Our feeling is that the more we know, the more we have to know. When we learn something, it branches out further. Of course, the challenge is that it’s often half-truths and half-lies. Our witnesses really need to be properly developed,” Clavano said in Filipino during a radio interview on DZMM.

He said some of the complaints have already been forwarded to the Department of Justice and are currently under preliminary investigation, where witnesses are first interviewed.

“A lot of the cases, especially those we submitted to the DOJ, are already in the preliminary investigation since they are the first ones to interview the witnesses,” Clavano said.

Clavano stressed that conflict of interest involving lawmakers remains a key concern for the Ombudsman.

He noted that the law prohibits members of Congress from acting as contractors, yet some lawmakers are allegedly involved in projects such as flood control works.

According to Clavano, the issue has become a focus of the Ombudsman’s investigation.

“It is part of our mandate to do [flood control project investigations] so, because it is blatant. If we give a timeline and say who is involved, sometimes it is not followed, and on the other side, the lawyers [of the politicians involved] use many tricks,” he said.

Clavano also said the Ombudsman has opted not to set public timelines for the probe while investigations continue.

“We learned our lesson not to give timelines. What I can say is that our investigation is still ongoing, and the reason we haven’t spoken much is because we don’t want our plans to be telegraphed,” he added.