Former DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos denied claims by Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga that he and his nephew, 4Ps Party-list Rep. Jonathan Clement “JP” Abalos, were involved in flood-control anomalies.
In a social media post, Abalos said, “Dear Congressman Kiko Barzaga, I wish to clarify that during my tenure as Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), I had no involvement in any flood control projects. Furthermore, my nephew, Congressman JC Abalos, was not involved in any such undertakings.”
Abalos criticized Barzaga for making what he called “unfounded and malicious accusations” after the Cavite lawmaker failed to attend an Ethics Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Abalos.
The panel discussed the possibility of Barzaga’s expulsion from Congress and launched an inquiry into his alleged misconduct.
“As public servants, our foremost responsibility is to the people. It would be proper to address the issues being discussed in the committee instead of resorting to baseless accusations,” Abalos added.
Barzaga had earlier posted a video on social media on October 14, accusing the Abalos family of corruption and calling for an investigation into them.
He alleged that Rep. Abalos had “plenty of involvement with the 2024 flood control budget anomalies” and claimed that Benhur Abalos was DILG secretary “during the time when hundreds of billions of pesos were stolen from local DPWH projects.”
“I call for the investigation on the possible corruption of the Abalos family and their imprisonment if found guilty,” Barzaga said.
