Uswag Ilonggo Partylist Rep. James “Jojo” Ang entered a plea of not guilty at the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division which handles two out of his 14 cases of graft related to infrastructure projects.

Ang was among the government officials that the Office of the Ombudsman labeled as “cong-tractors” over alleged conflict of interest for having stakes in contracting firms that were awarded government projects.

The particular firms that were linked to the lawmaker were Allencon Development Corporation and International Builders Corporation–both companies received nearly 600 government contracts amounting to over P40 billion in government contracts.

As for his other cases, Ang’s camp has filed respective motions to quash information and consolidate proceedings.

In a ruling promulgated last 24 August, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division denied the legal remedies sought by the lawmaker due to a lack of merit.

The justices of the court refuted Ang’s arguments which mainly revolved around a speedy disposition of the case and a supposed lack of jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan when it came to his case.

Notably, the lawmaker has posted bail amounting to P1.26 million for all 14 graft charges.

In a separate hearing at the Fifth Division, the arraignment of Tarlac 3rd District Rep. Noel Rivera was reset to 7 October due to pending resolution on his respective motions.

Similar to Ang, Rivera was alleged to have committed graft in relation to his partial ownership of Tarlac 3-G and Development Corporation that received millions in government projects.

The lawmaker is facing nine separate charges of graft at the Sandiganbayan.