MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman has filed a graft case with the Sandiganbayan against former congressman Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., one of the closest allies of former speaker Martin Romualdez in the House of Representatives.
Ombudsman Boying Remulla alleged during a press conference on Friday, October 16, that Gonzales violated the conflict-of-interest provision of the Anti-Graft Corrupt Practices Act.
“Usual story. There’s divestment, but (the money) still goes back to him. There’s no real divestment,” Remulla said.
“Payment made to the construction companies where he supposedly divested still goes to his private bank accounts,” he added.
Remulla clarified that the case filed was not plunder. In the Philippines, graft is a bailable offense.
The filing of the case came more than a year after Rappler first reported about Gonzales’ ties to A.D. Gonzales Jr. Construction, which bagged nearly P1 billion through four public works contracts from 2023 to 2024, when he was senior deputy speaker of the Romualdez-led House of Representatives.
The former congressman is listed as an incorporator of A.D. Gonzales Construction, which registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1993.
It is not immediately clear when he divested from the company, but the firm’s General Information Sheet (GIS) submitted to the SEC for the last quarter of 2024 lists his children as co-owners and key officers of the firm.
Upon publication of Rappler’s original story, Gonzales denied wrongdoing.
“These are old news and old allegations that were found to be baseless by the Office of the Ombudsman more than two years ago,” Gonzales said in August 2025. – Rappler.com