Dong Gonzales on his graft cases: I will prove myself innocent

MANILA, Philippines — Former Pampanga Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales on Tuesday said he would prove his innocence before the Sandiganbayan, where three counts of graft had been filed against him.

Gonzales made the remark after posting P90,000 bail before the anti-graft court’s Third Division, which is handling his case.

“I will prove myself innocent,” Gonzales said in an ambush interview.

Gonzales posted P270,000 bail for the three graft cases. Last week, he posted P90,000 bail each before the Second and Seventh divisions, which are handling one count each.

READ: Ex-Pampanga Rep. Gonzales posts P1.8 million bail for 2 counts of graft

“I think they will give us a fair trial here in Sandiganbayan,” he said.

The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday filed three counts of graft against Gonzales over his alleged links to A.D. Gonzales Jr. (ADG) Construction and Trading Company Inc., which secured public works contracts for flood control projects worth ₱611 million while he was in office.

READ: Graft cases filed vs. ex-Pampanga Rep. Gonzales

Gonzales denied any involvement in ADG Construction, saying the company bore his initials because he was a contractor when it was founded.

“If I had intervened in that, my family would have received more than just almost ₱611 million,” he said in Filipino. “I could have gotten a lot of projects if I had intervened, but I did not intervene.”

Gonzales said he had been a contractor since 1987 but stopped participating in the business when he first became a lawmaker in 2007.

“I did not participate in contracting anymore because I am afraid of what they call conflict of interest,” Gonzales said.

Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, prohibits public officials from having a direct or indirect financial or pecuniary interest in a business, contract or transaction in which they intervene or take part in their official capacity. /mcm