Toff de Venecia: Ombudsman has cleared me of flood mess allegations
Former Pangasinan Rep. Christopher “Toff” de Venecia on Wednesday said he was already cleared by the Office of the Ombudsman of the criminal and administrative complaint filed by a local journalist over his alleged involvement in P286 million worth of flood control projects.
In a statement, De Venecia said the Ombudsman had cleared him and Sual Mayor Liseldo Caluay and his wife of plunder, malversation, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and dishonesty in connection to the infrastructure projects in the town.
‘Based on hearsay’
The charges were filed by local journalist and tricycle association leader Jaime Aquino at the Ombudsman last month, accusing De Venecia of “collecting” from the contractors for the flood control projects, which the former lawmaker denied.
De Venecia said Aquino had admitted that his allegations against the him and Calugay were “based solely on hearsay and secondhand information from unnamed sources.”
“Furthermore, Aquino’s alleged ‘video evidence’ of supposedly useless flood control projects have been heavily disputed on social media, with numerous Pangasinan residents posting their own videos to contradict the assertions,” de Venecia said.
No pending case
He said he was able to confirm that he has no pending case before the Ombudsman based on the latest clearance he obtained from the antigraft agency.
“While the call for transparency and accountability should still remain the priority of every Filipino, we must also remain vigilant against unscrupulous individuals who attempt to take advantage of the outrage, and file nuisance cases hoping for a payday,” De Venecia noted.
He also stressed that Aquino had also admitted that he lacked the documentary evidence to support his complaint, and even went to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to investigate and validate his allegations.
De Venecia earlier said projects during his three terms as lawmaker from 2016 to 2025 were fully documented and properly executed.
