Abuse of rights and unjust enrichment complaints filed vs. Co, Romualdez, Vargas

The United People Against Corruption (UPAC) on Wednesday said it has filed a civil complaint with a regional trial court (RTC) against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, former House appropriations panel chair Zaldy Co, and Quezon City Representative Patrick Michael "PM" Vargas over the flooding in Novaliches.

UPAC accused them of abuse of rights and unjust enrichment.

Citing data compiled by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), UPAC said that flood control allocations for Vargas reached P944.6 million per year, or approximately P2.86 billion from 2023 to 2025.

“Despite these allocations, residents report little to no improvement in flood conditions in affected barangays,” it said in a statement.

UPAC spokesperson Bishop Kiko Bellaser said that the flooding in Novaliches is not merely a natural disaster but a man-made crisis.

“Ang patuloy na pagbaha sa Novaliches ay hindi aksidente ng kalikasan, ito ay bunga ng kapabayaan at katiwalian. Kung may pondo, dapat may proyekto. Kung may proyekto, dapat may malinaw na resulta. At kung walang resulta, may mananagot,” he said.

(The continued flooding in Novaliches is not a natural accident, it is the result of negligence and corruption. If there are funds, there should be a project. If there is a project, there should be clear results. And if there are no results, someone must be held accountable.)

Politically motivated?

Vargas, meanwhile, described the complaint as a "nuisance suit."

“This is a nuisance suit filed by a discredited local QC politician… Walang tinatawag na ghost projects sa aking distrito," Vargas said in a statement.

(My district does not have ghost projects.)

Vargas has been tagged to alleged anomalous projects by the Discayas, but he has already submitted documents to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to prove that the alleged projects by the Discayas do not exist. 

"Malinaw na malinaw na may bahid ng pulitika ang reklamong ito. Kitang-kita rin kung sino ang nasa likod nito at kung sino ang responsable sa walang tigil na paninira laban sa akin sa social media,” he added.

(It is very clear that this is politically motivated, and the people behind the smear campaign against me online are identifiable.)

Vargas also maintained that will face his accusers head on.

“Handa tayong lumaban dahil nasa panig natin ang katotohanan.”

 (I am ready to face this because we are on the side of the truth.)

Lawyer Ruy Rondain, the counsel for Co, said he would have to read the filed civil case first before making a comment.

GMA News Online has reached out to Romualdez, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

Romualdez has said that his conscience "remains clear" amid budget insertion allegations made against him. 

Co, meanwhile, has denied allegations that he benefited from alleged kickbacks in Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects. 

Though UPAC submitted the complaint to the RTC, the case will still be raffled, according to the group —with reports from Llanesca T. Panti/ VAL, GMA Integrated News