Former Pampanga Third District congressman Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales was charged before the Sandiganbayan yesterday with three counts of graft related to the award of flood control projects worth nearly P611.6 million to a company owned by his family when he was still a lawmaker.
The projects in Pampanga, consisting of drain systems and dikes, were awarded by the Department of Public Works and Highways on Feb. 9, Feb. 24 and May 25, 2023. Notices to proceed were issued by the DPWH between February and June of the same year.
In December 2024, however, then ombudsman Samuel Martires dismissed the complaint. Jesus Crispin Remulla reviewed the case upon taking over as ombudsman.
Remulla described Gonzales as a “congtractor” who supposedly divested from A.D. Gonzales Jr. Construction & Trading Co. Inc., but remained the recipient of the company’s earnings.
Remulla cited records of the Anti-Money Laundering Council in accusing Gonzales of conflict of interest.
Gonzales, a senior deputy House speaker in the 19th Congress, has denied the accusations against him.
A barangay captain from Mexico, Pampanga had filed graft charges in 2023 against Gonzales, five of his family members and four public works officials in relation to the case.
Terence Napao included in his complaint Gonzales’ son Aurelio Brenz, a councilor who became the company’s president and majority shareholder; daughter Alyssa Michaela, a provincial board member who is the company’s secretary and treasurer; another son who is the firm’s vice president and another daughter who serves as director. Another director is the congressman’s elder sister, according to Napao.
Gonzales’ relatives are not included in the current court indictment.
The case raises questions on the extent of this problem nationwide. Across the country, politics and family businesses are locked in an incestuous embrace. This appears to have become the norm rather than the exception.
Businesses owned by politicians, their relatives or their cronies bag government contracts not only for flood control but for a wide range of other projects. Such businesses keep out healthy competition and deter investments.
A court indictment is just the first step. If Remulla wants to put an end to this normalization of graft and conflict of interest, he must ensure that cases have a proper conclusion, which is conviction and punishment of the corrupt.