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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Matapang lang sa media?': Abante dares Magalong to attend House probe on flood control projects

'Matapang lang sa media?': Abante dares Magalong to attend House probe on flood control projects

Published Aug 23, 2025 01:50 pm

At A Glance

  • Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. has challenged Baguio City Mayor Benjamin "Benjie" Magalong to "show up or shut up" regarding the House of Representatives' inquiry on alleged anomalous flood control projects.
Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. (left), Baguio City Mayor Benjamin "Benjie" Magalong (MANILA BULLETIN/ Facebook)
Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. (left), Baguio City Mayor Benjamin "Benjie" Magalong (MANILA BULLETIN/ Facebook)



Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. has challenged Baguio City Mayor Benjamin "Benjie" Magalong to "show up or shut up" regarding the House of Representatives' inquiry on alleged anomalous flood control projects.
This, after the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief-turned-mayor doubled down on his sweeping accusations that House members were involved in such projects.
Magalong also rejected Abante's call for him to apologize for the broad remarks that smeared the House of Representatives' image.
“Mayor Magalong says he will not apologize. Then he must do the honorable thing: appear at our hearings, name names, submit documents, and testify under oath,” Abante said, referring to the probe of the House infra comm.
“If he is truly concerned about the Filipino people, then let him have the courage to appear in Congress. Matapang lang ata si Magalong pag kaharap ang media (Looks like Magalong only acts tough when he's in front of the media)" Abante wondered.
He added: "Sweeping accusations without bases accomplish nothing. If he wants to accomplish something tangible, then present concrete evidence. Then together we can hold the wrongdoers accountable.”
Abante, overall chairman of the quad-committee (quad-comm) in the current 20th Congress, said that Magalong’s reckless words were unfairly and unnecessarily eroding trust in institutions like the House, which also moved to address corruption in flood control projects.
"Mayor Magalong does not have a monopoly of good intentions. We also want to find out who are profiting off the suffering of our kababayan (countrymen)," he pointed out.
"Pero imbes na magtulungan tayo, sinasabi niyang moro-moro ang aming imbestigasyon; para bang lahat kaming kongresista ay kasabwat (But instead of cooperating with us, he called our investigation a farce, as if to say all us congressmen are involved).
"These reckless claims defames over 300 members of the House. Words have weight, especially when they come from a fellow public official," Abante said.
The Manila solon stressed that the infra comm has already been convened to investigate alleged flood control anomalies. He said Magalong is free to appear, present evidence, and put his statements on record.
“Results beat rhetoric every time. If Mayor Magalong refuses to face the committee with evidence, then he is nothing more than an empty can; maingay pero walang laman (it creates a lot of noise but contains nothing)."
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