November 28, 2025 | 12:54pm
MANILA, Philippines — Without elaborating, Rep. Edwin Gardiola (CWS Party-list) denied any involvement in the flood control corruption scandal.
His name resurfaced just months after former lawmaker Elizaldy Co became the focus of controversies over the 2025 budget and flood control projects due to his ties to top contractor Sunwest Inc.
Rep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas, 1st District) and former Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas Mayor Jay Manalo Ilagan were among the first public officials to accuse Gardiola of having questionable projects that were “pre-ordered” from the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
In other words, Gardiola had allegedly paid for infrastructure projects to be awarded to firms connected to him. He, however, flatly denied the claims, without specifying which allegations he was rejecting.
“I categorically deny any involvement in the acts being alleged. These claims are untrue,” he said in a statement on Thursday, November 27.
Gardiola simply expressed his frustration over being implicated and said he is willing to respond to the allegations in a proper forum where his constitutional rights are respected.
“As a public servant, I am accountable to the people. That is why I welcome the chance to face the witness who implicated me, but in the proper forum and under proceedings where my constitutional rights are respected,” he said.
Just like Co, Gardiola finds himself on the same boat, with a background in business and connections to multiple construction firms before entering Congress.
These include Newington Builders Inc., formerly E. Gardiola Construction and now owned by his brother Elmer Gardiola; JSG Construction, named after his wife Judy Silva Gardiola; S-Ang Construction and General Trading Inc., in which his wife and children hold stakes; and Laurel Development Corp., where Elmer also has a stake.
These firms have long received contracts from the Department of Public Works and Highways, dating back to the Arroyo administration, when they were reportedly a top contractor.
In 2025, Newington Builders Inc. won several multi-million-peso contracts for projects ranging from flood control to roads and bridges nationwide, according to the DPWH’s Project and Contract Management database.
Leviste described Gardiola as the next top contractor in Congress after Co. He said that in Batangas’ first district alone, Gardiola’s firms won P794 million worth of projects, on top of the P280 million awarded to contractors linked to him.
This isn’t the first time the public has scrutinized Gardiola’s name over reported anomalies in government contracts. In 2014, former DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson found that Gardiola failed to submit accomplishment reports for projects worth P6 billion.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has already recommended that the Ombudsman file criminal and administrative cases against Gardiola, along with six other members of Congress, excluding Co, whose arrest warrant has already been issued.