Interior Sec. Jonvic Remulla on the press briefing of DILG on Dec. 19, 2025 – Screen grabbed from DILG livestream/Facebook
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Wednesday revealed that he and Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla were offered P1 billion to stop their investigation into controversial flood control projects, but both officials declined the proposal.
The alleged offer reportedly came through a mutual acquaintance of one of the personalities implicated in the scandal during a private meeting about two weeks ago, the interior secretary told the Inquirer.
Remulla, who has spent his career in local government, said he did not personally know the individuals closely and was surprised by the approach.
He said the offer was explicitly to “quiet down the case” to prevent the implicated parties from facing charges.
The secretary added that he immediately informed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. about the attempt, noting that the president supported his decision to refuse the bribe.
To date, 26 people have been charged in connection with the flood control scandal, including 16 linked to a P289.5-million project in Occidental Mindoro and 10 related to a P96.5-million project in Davao Occidental.
The Mindoro case involves former House Appropriations Committee chair Zaldy Co, who remains at large along with several co-accused, while the Davao case involves contractor Sarah Discaya and nine others who surrendered last December ahead of arrest warrants.