The Commission on Audit found no involvement by Senator Joel Villanueva in anomalies uncovered in its fraud audits of flood-control projects in Bulacan, CoA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba told the Senate Finance Committee Thursday.

Villanueva had challenged Cordoba to disclose whether the senator was implicated in the audits.

“It’s really the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) people, the ones who implement [the projects] because it’s the budget of the DPWH… Senator Joel is not [in the findings], and he is not an implementer. He’s a legislator,” Cordoba said.

CoA found that Central Luzon received P98 billion in flood-control projects from July 2022 to May 2025, with Bulacan accounting for about 45 percent, or P44 billion.

Cordoba said CoA had completed nearly 50 fraud audits in Bulacan, most involving ghost or nonexistent projects. The findings were transmitted to the Ombudsman.

Villanueva has denied allegations by former DPWH-Bulacan district engineer Brice Hernandez that he received kickbacks from eight projects worth P600 million.