Plunder charges were filed yesterday against Surigao del Sur 1st District Representative Romeo Momo Sr. before the Office of the Ombudsman over the billions of pesos in government contracts allegedly won by a company connected to him.
In a press briefing, complainant Mary Helen Zafra also questioned the lawmaker’s inclusion in the bicameral conference committee for the 2026 national budget.
“We filed a case of plunder against Cong. Romeo Salazar Momo Sr., because it is very painful, he is a member of Bicam now, but his own company, Surigao La Suerte Corporation (SLSC), has been awarded billions of DPWH infrastructure [projects], and also fuel,” she said.
She claimed that the General Information Sheet (GIS) of SLSC listed Momo Sr. as one of the board of directors.
The complaints alleged that contracts were awarded to the company, amounting to over P1.4 billion in government-funded projects.
Among the complaints filed before the Ombudsman were possible violations of RA 7080 or the Plunder Law, RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards, as well as procurement, administrative, and ethical rules.
Aside from Zafra, the complainants also include a coalition of priests from the Diocese of Tandag and members of the legal profession in Surigao del Sur.
In a statement to House reporters, Momo said he will answer the allegations levelled against him at a proper forum and at a proper time.
“I would like to make it clear that there is no conflict of interest in my work as Surigao del Sur first district representative. Such an imputation of using public office for personal gain is not true. There is no truth to that,” the lawmaker stated in a mixture of English and Filipino.
“I had already, in fact, divested from the Surigao La Suerte Corp. a long time ago. I’m no longer part of this company,” he clarified.
“I strongly urge the public, especially my constituents in the first district of Surigao del Sur, that these baseless complaints are all politically motivated; this is just the plan of my political opponents. The so-called conflict of interest is nothing more than a desperate attempt to link me to a supposed corruption scandal,” Momo added.
