Congressman, contractor offered P2 billion bribe – Jonvic

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

January 16, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — After rejecting an earlier offer of P1 billion each to make him and his brother go easy on a congressman and a contractor being linked to flood control anomalies, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he and Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla were offered P2 billion each, which he said they rejected.

“A contractor and a congressman-contractor want us to help them in their case – removed from the list, or allowed to post bail,” Remulla said.

He declined to name the two, but he said one is connected with a group from Luzon and the other is from the Visayas and Mindanao.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government chief said the lawmaker and the contractor want help in arranging a favorable decision on their cases.

He said an emissary of the congressman from Luzon, who is also a contractor, communicated the offer through a friend about two weeks ago.

The second person, a contractor from the Visayas, made the same offer about three to four days ago, Remulla said.

“They think we hold the key to their being cleared. But it’s their lawyers actually who hold the key to their defense before the courts,” Remulla said in Filipino at a news briefing.

Remulla said he rejected the offer outright, while his brother felt insulted when informed of the bribe offer.

Upon learning of the latest bribe offer, Remulla said his ombudsman-brother blurted out: “Is that how low they think of us?”

Asked why he and his brother did not file cases for the bribe attempt, Remulla explained the alleged principals would likely just deny the bribe attempt and call it hearsay, as only their intermediaries took part in it. He said he does not know personally the lawmakers involved.

But Remulla said he opted to make the bribe offer public to send a signal to people involved in corruption that he and the ombudsman would never accept money in exchange for favors.

“Don’t even try, because it won’t work,” he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said several politicians have expressed interest in officially meeting with new CBCP president Lipa, Batangas Archbishop Gilbert Garcera.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, CBCP-Public Affairs Committee executive secretary, said he does not know what the politicians would like to discuss with Garcera. Secillano said the new CBCP president has not finalized a meeting yet with any of the politicians.

“There are requests for him to meet with some politicians but he wasn’t able to do it just yet,” said Secillano.

He said that it was possible that the politicians were only reaching out to Garcera “for building network,” and might just want to ask the prelate’s support for their programs.

He said Garcera would not be alone when he meets with the politicians.

“As I was told, he’ll do it with utmost prudence – consult bishops and other stakeholders before doing so, and bring with him some individuals as observers during the meeting,” Secillano added.

Garcera became CBCP president on Dec. 1, taking over from Kalookan’s Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, who completed two consecutive terms, between 2021 and 2025.  –Evelyn Macairan