A congressman who says he handed his shares in the family construction firm to his sister has been charged for allegedly never really letting go of them.
Former Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. has been indicted before the Sandiganbayan on three counts of graft over flood control projects worth ₱612 million, according to Philstar.com (Daphne Galvez, Oct. 17, 2026). Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed the filing and cited conflict of interest: the projects were awarded by DPWH-Central Luzon to A.D. Gonzales Jr. Construction and Trading Co. Inc., which the report says is owned by the Gonzales family. Gonzales served in Congress from 2007 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2025.
The three projects
Per Philstar, the counts cover flood mitigation facilities in San Fernando and Bacolor (over ₱252 million); flood control structures, dikes and slope protection in Mexico town (over ₱94 million); and another flood management project in Mexico (nearly ₱265 million). Together the projects come to roughly ₱611 million, in line with the reported ₱612 million total.
The 'divestment' that wasn't
The core of the case is not that a lawmaker's family firm won contracts, but that, in the Ombudsman's view, the lawmaker was still in it. Philstar reports there is prima facie evidence that Gonzales retained a financial interest in the company while sitting in Congress. Gonzales said he had transferred his shares to his sister. The Ombudsman held that this was not a valid divestment.
Remulla told reporters that anti-money laundering records showed payments to the firm still reached Gonzales's private bank accounts, calling the transfer unreal: "so there was really no real divestment at all," as quoted by Philstar. On the projects themselves, he said: "You can only imagine the difficulties this has brought to the community."
What the complainants said
The case traces to two complaints filed in July and August, per Philstar. The Ombudsman's field investigation office examined Gonzales's financial interest in the firm. Separately, Terence Napao, barangay captain of Sto. Cristo in Mexico town, alleged structural defects and non-compliant construction materials in the projects.
Philstar notes that a 2024 complaint by Napao against Gonzales, four of his children and a sister was dismissed by then-Ombudsman Samuel Martires. The report does not say why. It is worth noting that the same allegations, in an earlier form, went nowhere until the office changed hands.
What we still don't know
- Whether the sister and Gonzales's children will be named in the indictment. Philstar reports that two of the children hold public office in Pampanga.
- Gonzales's full response. The report carries only his claim that he transferred his shares to his sister; it includes no statement answering the AMLC-records allegation.
- Whether the defects Napao described have been independently inspected or verified, and what DPWH says about the quality of the work. The report records no DPWH response.
Context
The Gonzales indictment adds to the flood control cases the Ombudsman has been filing since last year. Pulpulitiko reported on Oct. 15 that Remulla's first annual address counted 39 flood control cases and 52 accused, with no convictions mentioned in the coverage. Those cases are still at the charging and early-trial stage, including bail hearings at the Sandiganbayan for other accused.
The conflict-of-interest theory also bears on a familiar loophole: lawmakers who say they have "transferred" shares of family businesses that then win public works. A paper divestment to a relative is easy to produce; money trails are harder to fake, which is why the AMLC records matter here. Whether they hold up in court is for the Sandiganbayan to decide. Gonzales is presumed innocent.
Sources
- Philstar.com, Daphne Galvez, "Ex-Pampanga lawmaker charged over flood projects," Oct. 17, 2026: https://www.philstar.com/nation/2026/10/17/2563706/ex-pampanga-lawmaker-charged-over-flood-projects
- Pulpulitiko, "Ombudsman Remulla's Year-One Scorecard," Oct. 15, 2026.