SEC records show Rep. Jojo Ang owned stake in construction firm—Ombudsman investigator

MANILA — An Office of the Ombudsman investigator testified before the Sandiganbayan on Wednesday that Uswag Partylist Rep. Jojo Ang had a 5 percent stake in a construction firm while serving as a lawmaker, citing records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Carmelo Gines Jr., a Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer II, testified before the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division in the graft case against Ang over alleged conflict of interest involving infrastructure projects.

Gines said SEC records showed that Ang had 500 subscribed shares, equivalent to 5 percent ownership, in Allencon Development Corp. from 2022 to 2023.

He said Ang was listed as a stockholder in the corporation’s general information sheets (GIS) submitted on April 28, 2023, and June 30, 2023.

The defense argued that an amended GIS filed on Nov. 15, 2023, no longer included Ang’s name.

However, the prosecution maintained that Ang’s name appeared in the April and June 2023 filings, and that his alleged financial interest in the company overlapped with the period when two contracts in Antique worth P8.1 million and P16 million were awarded.

Gines also cited Ang’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) for December 2022 and December 2023, which listed Allencon as one of his business interests.

During cross-examination, defense counsel asked Gines if the graft-busting panel was “biased” against Ang during its investigation.

“No, we were not,” Gines replied.

He said investigators “are on the side of the truth” and based their findings on records gathered during the investigation.

Gines also said the panel followed a no-contact policy with the accused during the fact-finding stage.