THE PARTYLIST system in the country isn’t just an extension of political dynasties. It has also emerged as leverage for businessmen to amass more fortune.
In the case of sectoral representative James “Jojo” Ang Jr used the Uswag Ilonggo partylist group to gain leverage in cornering juicy government infrastructure projects for a construction company believed to be his.
For one, Ang certainly savored to the hilt the perks of being a congressman in his two terms as partylist representative in the 19th and 20th Congress., for which the Office of the Ombudsman filed 14 counts of graft against him in July 2026.
With a battery of lawyers, Ang who forms part of the House of Representatives’ elite list of the so-called “congtractors,” Ang filed a motion seeking an outright dismissal of the charges filed against him.
The Sandiganbayan however threw out his bid to dismiss one graft case and motion petition to consolidate 14 others.
In a 17-page resolution issued on Sept. 2, the anti-graft court’s Third Division ruled to deny for lack of merit Ang’s motion for consolidation and motion to quash information.
State prosecutors claim he violated the constitutional ban on lawmakers holding financial interests in companies with government contracts. They alleged he kept shares in a construction firm (Alencon Development Corporation) that won Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) road projects.
Ang posted bail and later pleaded not guilty before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court in September 2026. The court denied his motions to dismiss and quash the information against him.
The prosecution argued that consolidating the cases would prolong litigation for each case, “because the prosecution will have to present witnesses and pieces of evidence for all counts, which are insignificant for the other charges.”
Ang is facing 14 counts of violation of Section 3 (h) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act over contracts for road projects in parts of Panay island worth millions of pesos, all filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Two were filed before the Second Division, one before the Seventh Division, three before the First Division, three before the Fifth, two before the Fourth Division, two before the Sixth Division and one before the Third Division, particularly the case involving a P5.9 million contract for a project involving the Iloilo-Antique Road in March 2023.
The Third Division also trashed Ang’s motion to quash by declaring it “cannot subscribe to Ang’s argument that the Information lacks factual averment that the project was not completed, or was substandard or was a ghost project to the damage of the government” since the charge against him indicated that he had interest in the road project while being a government official.
In a nine-page resolution on Sept. 3, the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division also ruled to deny for lack of merit Ang’s motions for consolidation and to quash information.
It added there was no need to merge the cases against him, ruling that these must be tried individually.
Late August, the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division also denied Ang’s motion to quash the graft case over an P8.1-million contract for road projects in Iloilo and Antique.
Before entering public service, Ang worked as a salesman for International Builders Corporation (IBC), a contracting company based in Pavia, Iloilo, which is owned by his relatives.
In 2022, he ran as the first nominee for the party-list Uswag Ilonggo, which won a single seat in the 19th Congress and won again in the 2025 midterm polls for the 20th Congress, with Ang continuing as its representative