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Andaya shows bank records to prove Diokno in-laws' firm got over P81M from DPWH contracts
The construction firm of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno's in-laws got more than P81 million in contracts for government infrastructure projects paid by front or dummy corporations, House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya said on Tuesday.
Andaya made the remark during the resumption of the House Committee on Rules inquiry into the supposed anomalies in the 2019 national budget and the alleged questionable insertions of the Department of Budget and Management in next year's appropriations.
During his presentation, Andaya said six deposits slips showed that around P81 million was deposited to the bank account of Aremar Construction Corp., owned by the in-laws of Diokno.
Andaya said these amounts are contracts for the Department of Public Works and Highways paid by the "dummy" corporations of Aremar Construction Corp.
In the previous hearing, Andaya showed proof that Aremar Construction Corp. is actually the one that bags contracts for infrastructure projects from winning bidders like the supposedly favored contractor CT Leoncio Construction and Trading.
Then, Andaya presented a deposit slip from a winning contractor showing that around P11 million was deposited to the bank account of Aremar Construction Corp.
In Tuesday's hearing, Andaya said that the winning triple "A" contractors only get royalty fees.
"Usually, 3 to 5 percent lang daw ito ng total project cost. Karamihan daw sa mga malalaking kontraktor, dummy at namomorsyento na lang sa mga projects," he said.
Andaya believes the only job of the triple "A" contractors like CT Leoncio Construction and Trading is to get a contract and lend it to the favored local contractor of a high-ranking official who would actually do the project.
But despite the earnings of Aremar Construction Corp. from these projects, Andaya said the company only paid around P15,000 in taxes.
"In their financial statement submitted to the Security and Exchange Commission, we noticed payment of taxes for only P15,685. Kung hindi napupunta sa taxes, saan napupunta ang pera ng Aremar?" Andaya said.
Casiguran, Sorsogon mayor Edwin Hamor, who established Aremar Construction Corp., however denied ties with Diokno.
While his stepson, Jojo Sicat, is the husband of Diokno's daughter, Charlotte, Hamor said he is not related to the Budget secretary, and only met him once at a wedding. — MDM, GMA News
