A counter-affidavit filed by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineer Abelardo Calalo has surfaced, containing serious allegations against Uswag Ilonggo Party-list Representative James “Jojo” A. Ang Jr.

The filing comes after Calalo’s arrest over an alleged offer of ₱3,126,900 to Rep. Leandro Leviste, who has been vocal about substandard DPWH projects in the district. Calalo insists the contributions were legitimate donations, not bribes, and claims he delivered them to Leviste’s office, not to the congressman personally.

In his affidavit, Calalo denied bribing Leviste, saying the money came from a contractor and was handed over solely at the instruction of Rep. Ang for the solon’s district projects.

Calalo also recounted that following the conclusion of the local elections, specifically on May 21, 2025, he was summoned by the staff of Senator Loren Legarda to meet with the Senator, Rep. Leviste, and newly elected Congressman Ang Jr. of the Uswag Ilonggo Party-list. During that meeting, they discussed funds from 2020 to 2026 and the proposed 2026 budget for the First District of Batangas.

According to Calalo, on May 28, during a meeting with Leviste, Ang instructed him to solicit donations from contractors.

He added that on July 31, 2025, after the exposé made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his State of the Nation Address, Leviste told him that he would have some of his staff stationed at the DPWH official’s office. “Multiple staff members of Congressman Leviste came and scrutinized all the documents they could get their hands on, took photos of them without permission and had even demanded from my staff specific documents as if they are in a witch-hunt. They likewise took files pertaining to specific projects,” Calalo said.

Calalo said he later realized that Leviste did not trust him and suspected he was being influenced by former congressman Eric Buhain. “At one point, Complainant’s staff was heard to have uttered ‘Mag-ingat kayo, baka may spy. B-Turf Ito.’ At first, the reference to a ‘B-turf’ did not make sense to me and my staff. But then later on, we realized that it was meant to refer to the former Congressman, Eric Buhain.”

He said that on August 5, Ang allegedly reiterated the directive, urging contractors to contribute as a show of support for Leviste’s initiatives. Calalo admitted collecting funds from one contractor but claimed he feared losing his position if he refused.

He said that Ang allegedly pressured him to arrange a meeting with Leviste on August 22, the same day police arrested him and seized the alleged donation.

“He repeatedly asked me about the former Congressman Eric Buhain’s supposed involvement in the bidding of the projects and how the latter would receive kickbacks from contractors. But in the end, it was apparent that Complainant Cong. Leviste became frustrated that I was not able to give him anything material or helpful on the matter as I repeatedly told him that I really had no idea about the alleged arrangements for the conduct of bidding within our district,” Calalo said.

“Cong. Leviste then asked me out of nowhere how much it would amount to if the contributions from the contractors would reach ten percent,” Calalo added.

A few minutes later, police arrived at the scene, arrested Calalo, and placed him in handcuffs. The funds he had collected, intended for the projects of Rep. Leandro Leviste, were seized by authorities.

“Upon my arrest and detention, it has been falsely reported by Complainant Cong. Leviste himself through various news platforms that I had allegedly tried to offer him money in order to allegedly convince him to relent from investigating the flood control projects within our district,” Calalo said. “Worse, in his press releases, including in his Complaint-Affidavit, he had attributed statements allegedly uttered by me prior to my arrest relative to the alleged corrupt practices in the bidding of projects within our district,” he added.

Calalo said the directive to collect contributions was discussed in their Viber group chat, but he alleged that Ang later deleted some messages, raising suspicions. He described himself as a “scapegoat” in a broader alleged fundraising system and called for a Senate investigation, requesting that the deleted messages undergo forensic examination to reveal the full context.

Leviste, however, dismissed Calalo’s claim as “hardly a valid defense,” calling it an “admission of an anomaly.” He advised Calalo to disclose “the long list of names of other contractors and proponents” of infrastructure projects in the district who were reportedly “ready and willing to give support.”

📷 Abelardo Calalo