MANILA – Sen. Joel Villanueva on Friday filed a counter-affidavit to deny allegations linking him to the ghost flood control projects, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Friday.
DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez, in a message to reporters, confirmed the filing. “He filed his counter-affidavit ahead of the preliminary investigation this Monday,” he said.
The lawmaker personally appeared before the DOJ but declined to face reporters in connection with his filing.
Villanueva’s counsels earlier this month filed with the DOJ his counter-affidavit for a separate graft complaint over the alleged delivery of around P150 million in kickbacks from a flood control project.
Villanueva was originally given until Jan. 26 to submit his counter-affidavit.
He was named as a respondent in malversation complaints involving Wawao Builders and Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.
State witness and former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, appearing before the Senate last September, said Villanueva received commissions delivered to a rest house in Bocaue, Bulacan that he claimed was received by Villanueva’s personnel named “Peng.” (PNA)