New lawmaker’s kin are known gov’t infra contractors
One of the newest members of the House of Representatives, Ang Probinsyano Rep. Alfred delos Santos, has family members running companies that have won government contracts in Albay province, the Inquirer learned.
On Thursday, Delos Santos was officially proclaimed as one of three party list representatives—including those of Abono and Murang Kuryente—who could assume seats in the 20th Congress following the disqualification of the Duterte Youth group.
All in the family
It is a comeback for the Albay-born lawmaker, who debuted at the chamber in 2019 after Ang Probinsyano, then a newly formed group, won two seats with more than 760,000 votes. He retained his House seat in 2022, after which he served as assistant majority leader for the committee on rules.
The Inquirer learned that his mother, Maria Gracia delos Santos, is the authorized managing officer of Wearr Enterprises and Development Corp.
The Legazpi-based company bagged at least 48 government projects in Albay, Sorsogon, and Camarines Sur worth P2.4 billion from 2016 to 2025, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) project and contract management application (PCMA).
According to Sumbong sa Pangulo website, the online desk ordered set up by President Marcos to receive complaints or leads regarding public works projects for possible investigation, Wearr bagged P377.2 million worth of flood control projects—in Albay—under the current administration alone.
Delos Santos’ three brothers also have their own construction firms.
Raymond delos Santos is currently the authorized managing officer for WCS Construction Inc. also in Legazpi City, which has won P1.6 billion worth of infrastructure contracts in Albay in the same period.
It has one flood control project under the Marcos administration, a P102.3-million project in Guinobatan, Albay, which was supposed to have been finished in 2024.
RCDS Construction & Supply Inc., based in Ilawod, Guinobatan, Albay, is owned by Richard delos Santos and has 57 contracts worth more than P3 billion in total.
It has five flood control projects worth P243.6 million, all undertaken in 2023.
3Diamonds Construction Corp., owned by Wilfred delos Santos, has 55 contracts worth P2.5 billion.
It has the most flood control projects of the four firms: 14 undertakings worth a total of P616.7 million from 2022 to 2023.
None of them have been accused of any anomalies in the ongoing investigations.
In an interview on Thursday, Delos Santos confirmed their relations but stressed that he himself was not involved in their companies and that he had never used his office to give them undue advantage.
“We’re party list representatives, so the budget (for those contracts) don’t pass through us. What we do is we just file bills. And even allocations, we don’t have such things, so there is no conflict of interest,” he told the Inquirer.
Delos Santos also stressed that their companies have been long-standing firms well before he became a congressman in 2019.
3 party-lists proclaimed
When still a neophyte lawmaker, Delos Santos was caught on video trying to punch a waiter in a fast-food chain in Legazpi City. He apologized later, saying he was “not a bully or a troublemaker … I am not a siga, astig or sanggano. The people who know me well can attest to that.”
“This single incident does not represent me or my values, and I will prove it by working hard to deliver our party platform and campaign promises to fellow probinsyanos, and from hereon conduct myself as an exemplary public servant worthy of the trust and confidence our people placed on us last election,” he said.
Aside from Ang Probinsyano, taking the other seats in the House that became available after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) canceled the registration of Duterte Youth are Abono and Murang Kuryente party lists.
Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia announced this during a press conference on Thursday before the first nominees of the three party lists were proclaimed by the commission.
They were former Rep. Robert Raymund Estrella for Abono party list, former Agriculture Secretary and Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap for Murang Kuryente, and Delos Santos for Ang Probinsyano.
“This decision of the Commission and the National Board of Canvassers is a result of the recommendation of our law department as well as the supervisory group in charge of all the aspects of canvassing and proclamation,” Garcia said.
According to him, the Comelec based its decision on recent cases, such as An Waray vs Comelec, with the three seats originally allotted for Duterte Youth given to the party lists who got the most votes among those who did not make the cut during the May 2025 elections. —WITH A REPORT FROM GILLIAN VILLANUEVA
