Ombudsman says Eric Yap a 'person of interest' in unfinished flood control projects

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla named Benguet Rep. Eric Yap as a "person of interest" on Thursday in connection with fully paid yet unfinished flood control projects built in La Union by a firm he previously owned.

Remulla also said that Yap's brother Edvic, a representative of the ACT-CIS party-list in the House, and Bulacan Rep. Salvador Pleyto received money through bank transfers from contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, whose firms have been linked to ghost and substandard flood control projects.

Pleyto denied the accusations.

GMA News Online has sought comments from other lawmakers mentioned by Remulla and will update the story as soon as it is available.

Remulla made the remarks as the Department of Public Works and Highways filed complaints before the Ombudsman against 21 DPWH officials and two contractors over flood control projects in La Union and Davao Occidental worth a total of P276 million.

These are P96.5 million worth of ghost projects in Davao Occidental and two phases of the unfinished flood control projects in La Union worth P89.7 million each.

The contractor for the Davao Occidental project is St. Timothy Construction, owned by Curlee and Sarah Discaya, while the contractor for the La Union project is Silverwolves Construction.

“A person of interest here is Congressman Eric Yap, who is known to be the beneficial owner of the company (Silverwolves)," Remulla said.

"He divested from it a few years ago, supposedly, but there is reason to suspect that he's still the beneficial owner of the company, so there's a clear case of conflict of interest, punishable also under Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act),” Remulla said.

Yap served as the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations from 2020 to 2022.

Remulla said he has received information from the Anti-Money Laundering Council on money transfers to Edvic Yap and Pleyto.

“Magkapatid ‘yan, Eric and Edvic Yap, meron na kami nakuhang transmittal ng pera from the AMLC (Anti Money Laundering Council) papunta kay Edvic Yap. So, nakita namin may pattern talaga na meron talaga silang kinalaman sa mga kontrata kasi ‘yung transmittal ng pera, galing sa Discaya,” Remulla said.

“That’s P70 million. The other one is Salvador Pleyto, congressman for Bulacan, iyong kasama sa remittance ng Discaya na na-tag ng Anti-Money Laundering Council,” he added.

Remulla said the information of bank transfers from the Discayas to the lawmakers, which happened from 2019 to 2020, "shows they were enmeshed."

"Kasama sila sa pagkilos ng kontrata. Sila'y nakikialam at nakikisa sa pagkilos ng kontrata,” Remulla said.

“Bakit magbibigay ang kontratista ng P70 million papunta sa isang tao kung hindi dahil sa kontrata?” he added.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the Davao Occidental project was never completed.

"And the construction that was started there was started only last August of this year, already three years since the supposed completion and full payment of the project. So it is clearly a ghost project," Dizon said. 

"On the other hand, this La Union project, again, is a substandard project. Again, fully paid but not yet completed," he added.

In a press statement, Pleyto strongly condemned the accusations and insinuations against him as he asked the AMLC to release a copy of the report where his name was mentioned for him to address it.

"In the interest of truth, accountability, and due process, I am formally requesting the AMLC to provide an official copy of the said report or any related document which my name was mentioned or implicated, in order for me to properly and responsibly address any findings or insinuations made therein," he said.

He also expressed readiness to cooperate with the AMLC or any other competent authorities "to ensure that the truth will come out so that I can clear my name." 

"Until such time that I have a copy of the official report from the AMLC, I urge the public to refrain from drawing conclusions or spreading unverified information that may cause undue harm to my personal reputation, both as a private person and a public servant," he further said. —NB/AOL, GMA Integrated News