MANILA – Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday said up to 200 individuals, including at least 60 congressmen, may face indictment over alleged irregularities in flood control projects across the country.

Remulla said contractors and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are also among those being investigated.

“Marami remedies na binibigay ang batas (There are remedies provided under the law) but we can’t tell you that now because we have to agree on the proper way to go about the cases. Because what we’re talking about here is that you have more than 100 people to 200 people involved,” he said in a press briefing.

He noted that 67 lawmakers were found to have “proven interests” in projects, which he described as conflicts of interest within Congress.

“We’re looking at this list closely. We have to look at the totality of it and how crazy it has become so that we can address each and every problem with a law that best fits the situation,” he added.

The justice chief lamented what he called years of impunity in government contracts.

“It’s not a rocket science. Everybody knows about it in Congress. Many of their colleagues are contractors also. And that this is a prohibited activity. I don’t know if it’s known to them or it’s just the impurity of it all,” Remulla said.

“The people don’t care anymore if it’s against the law because no one’s going to run after them, they think. But it’s something that we have to address.”

Remulla also confirmed that reports involving the alleged prohibited interests of the family of senators Mark and Camille Villar are being scrutinized.

“Ito yung first cousin niya yung contractor doon sa lugar nila (This is about a contractor who is his first cousin). That’s a prohibited interest. But we have to flesh it out. We can’t just rely on a newspaper as a source of evidence. Media gives us the leads that we have to follow. Later on, we will have to build up everything,” he said.

(PNA)