Solon denies their partylist gave bribes to amend 1987 Constitution
Ako Bicol Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon on Wednesday denied bribery allegations against their partylist linked to the push to amend the 1987 Constitution.
“We deny the allegation of Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman that we initiated the distribution of money during the meeting we had with the League of Municipalities Albay Chapter,” Bongalon said over dzBB.
“This is a wild and baseless accusation,” he added.
Bongalon said he and former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Alfred Garbin, Jr. were invited by the Albay mayors as resource persons since he is a member of the House Committee of Constitutional Amendments while Garbin was the former chairperson of that panel in the 18th Congress.
Lagman previously released a statement alleging that Ako Bicol bribed mayors to convince their constituents to support Charter change. Another one who made the allegation was Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel.
This was allegedly done to make sure their constituents will give the required three percent of total voters per municipality for a people’s initiative to gain ground in amending the Constitution.
Lagman also said that an unspecified amount of money supposedly given to mayors for the vote-buying campaign would be returned to Bongalon.
“How can the mayors return money to me when I haven’t even given them any?” Bongalon said.
Bongalon said that a certain lawyer Anthony Abad was behind the push for signatures for the People’s Initiative and will be its main petitioner.
In a separate interview with dzBB, Lagman claimed he had proof.
“There is proof. The evidence shows that they 100 percent distributed money during their meeting with the mayors,” Lagman said.
“Naturally, they will deny it because they are the suspected perpetrators but in our jurisprudence, the specific and detailed assertion of a fact is more credible than the general denial of a supposed perpetrator,” he said.
“If the intention of the People’s initiative is honorable and patriotic, why do we have to buy the people’s will?” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
