Bulacan solon rejects link to Discayas in flood control probe
MANILA, Philippines — Without outright denying the claims, Rep. Salvador Pleyto (Bulacan, 6th District) rejected Ombudsman Boying Remulla’s assertion that he received “remittances” from a contractor of a substandard flood control project prior to entering Congress in 2022.
In a statement on Friday, October 24, Pleyto “strongly condemned” claims tying him to the Discayas, a top flood control contractor.
This came after Ombudsman Boying Remulla said on Thursday that Pleyto was among the three lawmakers considered a “person of interest” in the probe of anomalous flood control projects.
Remulla said the Anti-Money Laundering Council flagged bank transactions showing Pleyto received funds from the Discayas before being elected as congressman.
"The other one was not yet a congressman, but a congressman now. The other one is Salvador Pleyto, congressman from Bulacan — one of those who received remittances from the Discayas and was tagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council," he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
The Ombudsman revealed this during a press conference after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) filed two more malversation and graft complaints against two contractors and 20 of its own officials. The cases involved ghost and substandard flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental, amounting to P275.9 million in contracts.
RELATED: 3 more solons tagged in flood control mess as DPWH files new graft raps
For his part, Pleyto said he is willing to cooperate with the AMLC to clear his name of the allegations and "ensure that the truth will come out."
Pleyto's contractor links
The Bulacan lawmaker reportedly serves as president and CEO of S.A. Pleyto Construction Corp. Before and after he entered Congress, his firm had already won government contracts to build infrastructure projects, including roads and flood control structures in Bulacan.
According to the DPWH's Project and Contract Management Application, Pleyto's firm secured a P22.78 million contract in 2023 for the construction of a flood control structure along the Angat River in Plaridel, Bulacan.
In 2022, S.A. Pleyto Construction secured two public works projects in the lawmaker’s province worth P9.84 million, which includes a contract for construction along the Guiguinto River. The firm also won two larger projects in 2021 totaling roughly P24.2 million.
Its largest contract in recent years, but before Pleyto was a congressman, was a P45.8 million flood control project along the Marilao River and its tributaries in 2020.
Pleyto also served as a DPWH undersecretary in 2005, where he was also designated as the principal representative to the Task Force for the Security of Critical Infrastructure during the Arroyo administration. Before this, he had also become an inspector, chief civil engineer, survey aide and regional director.
Pleyto appealed to the public to "refrain from drawing conclusions or spreading unverified information" that could harm his reputation both as a "private person and public servant."
The other two lawmakers named were brothers Rep. Edvic and Eric Yap, whom Remulla said may have a connection to the La Union flood control project. According to him, the AMLC traced a P70 million transaction from the Discayas to Edvic’s account.
Both have yet to issue a statement.
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