Solon, others face fresh graft complaints at Ombudsman

Another case for alleged graft and grave misconduct were filed against Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo and several other public officials from the local government and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at the Office of the Ombudsman this Thursday.

Based on Atty. Mary Helen Polinar Zafra of Task Force Kasanag (TFK), Momo and his family were allegedly the beneficiary of various government project contracts under a company that they owned called Surigao La Suerte Corporation (SLSC).

Zafra said that the representative was able to obtain nearly P300 million from the procurements of various local government units around the area.

To supplement their claims, the lawyer said that they obtained documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that placed the Momo family as the owners of SLSC.

Aside from Momo, complaints were also filed against incumbent Surigao del Sur Governor Johnny Ty Pimentel and Carrascal Mayor Vicente Pimentel III for a similar scheme.

The Pimentels supposedly acquired around P1 billion in contracts from the DPWH through their respective companies which were also documented in both the SEC and the DTI.

Among the charges sought were for crimes of graft, grave misconduct, malversation, and conduct prejudicial to the service.

The group had filed a similar petition against the respondents back in December of 2025, however, upon their consultation with the Ombudsman, they said that the case was still under scrutiny.

Around that time, Momo defended his reputation, claiming that the attacks had no basis and were “politically motivated” to destroy his name in the political sphere.

To that, Zafra asserted that their intentions were clear–to fight against corruption regardless of who was in office.

“Kami po sa Task Force Kasanag, kasi anti-corruption advocates po kami, kahit sino pa kayo kailangan namin bigyan po ng hustiya ang mga taong gutom, ang mga taong wala man lang mapakain sa kanilang pamilya dahil sa inhustisya brought about by corrupt officials,” she said.

(We at Task Force Kasanag, since we are anti-corruption advocates, regardless of who you are we want to give justice to people that are hungry, people that can not afford to feed their families because of corrupt officials)

The lawyer further asserted that they were not funded by government officials, instead spending their own money to oppose government dishonesty.