(Eagle News)—House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. on Thursday, Jan. 3, stood by his allegations against Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, claiming that the firm of the in-laws of his daughter actually cornered government projects in the millions of pesos using “dummy firms.”
During the nationally-televised first hearing into alleged anomalies in the proposed national budget for 2019, Andaya alleged Aremar Construction Corp, which he said was owned by Maria Hamor, daughter of Ester Hamor who is the mother of Jojo Sicat, the husband of Diokno’s daughter Charlotte, actually employed CT Leoncio Construction and Trading so it can corner government projects in Sorsogon.
Andaya had alleged CT Leoncio, which he said had links to Diokno, was a “favored” contractor in government.
As alleged proof of the supposedly prevalent setup, Andaya noted what he said was a bank deposit made by the alleged winning bidder of a project in Bicol to Aremar.
The name of the depositor was shaded in the bank deposit slip of P11.4 16 million.
“Kapag nakuha na ang kontrata, ipapasa na ng winning bidder, usually a triple A contractor. Ang kontrata ibibigay naman sa local contractor na pinapaboran o dikit sa isang opisyal na nag-release ng pondo. May komisyon lamang na tatanggapin ang winning bidder,” Andaya said.
In view of what Andaya said was this development, the House majority leader said he would seek the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council in his probe.
Diokno has denied all of Andaya’s allegations, which came after Senator Panfilo Lacson said Camarines Sur–Andaya’s province—and a district in Pampanga–Speaker Gloria Arroyo’s district–had cornered “congressional insertions” in the House-proposed national budget for 2019.
On the basis of Andaya’s allegations, the House adopted a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider his appointment of Diokno as budget secretary.
But the Palace stood by Diokno, citing his reputation for integrity.