Joel Villanueva files counter-affidavit on malversation complaint

Senator Joel Villanueva on Friday personally filed his counter-affidavit at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with the malversation complaint lodged against him over alleged anomalous flood control projects, Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez said.

"He filed his counter ahead of the PI (preliminary investigation) this Monday," Martinez told reporters.

Villanueva is a respondent in three complaints regarding alleged ghost flood control projects in Bulacan involving contracting firms Wawao Builders and Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.

He was given until January 26, Monday, to file his counter-affidavit in one of the complaints after he filed a motion for extension.

The senator immediately boarded his vehicle after leaving the DOJ building.

Earlier in January, Villanueva filed his counter-affidavit for a graft complaint on the alleged delivery of some P150 million in kickbacks from a flood control project.

Villanueva was linked to the controversy by dismissed Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara in September 2025.

The senator has denied Alcantara's statements, asserting that he has "nothing to hide."

Alcantara's erstwhile subordinate, former Bulacan 1st district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez, had also linked Villanueva to the flood control controversy. The senator, however, branded his allegations as a "demolition job." — VDV, GMA Integrated News