The turnaround of former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, now a “protected witness,” in the large-scale flood control anomalies came as a surprise during the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the corruption scandal on Tuesday.

But for Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee looking into the scandal, the important thing is not why Alcantara decided to tell all but that he was able to substantiate his bombshell testimony.

For Lacson, it does not matter now why Alcantara chose to make his disclosures about the scheme that defrauded the government and deprived the people of Bulacan of the benefits of upright flood control projects.

“Whatever it is, I think it doesn’t matter anymore,” he told CoverStory on Wednesday when asked how Alcantara’s decision to cooperate with the inquiry came about, and whether the former district engineer was indeed telling all or still holding back information. 

“What’s important is, his testimony has provided added details of information and, most likely, documentary evidence to support his personal accounts of the involvement of those he implicated,” Lacson said.  

It was a different Alcantara at the hearing on Tuesday. Gone were his dismissive smile and his way of crossing his arms and shaking his head as his former deputy engineers in the first district of Bulacan—Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza—testified in the two earlier hearings how they merely followed his instructions in distributing kickbacks to lawmakers and contractors of government-funded flood projects that were either substandard or nonexistent.

This time, Alcantara held his head in his hand after he read and later signed an affidavit he had prepared, naming Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and others as among the recipients of kickbacks of the anomalous projects that, in turn, came from “insertions” in the national budget.

Alcantara also named Roberto Bernardo, former undersecretary at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), as his boss in the anomalous projects. 

‘Voluntary cooperation’ 

“I am executing this sworn statement to show my voluntary cooperation in the ongoing investigations of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and other government agencies regarding the anomalous projects in the DPWH, and to ultimately hold accountable all those involved,” Alcantara said at the hearing, adding:  

“I reserve the right to submit an additional sworn statement should I be given another opportunity.”

In his testimony, Alcantara said, among others, that:

• Bernardo ordered him to give Villanueva 25% or ₱150 million from the ₱600 million granted for a multipurpose building project. The senator had asked for a project worth ₱1.5 billion, but only ₱600 million was granted. The money came from unprogrammed appropriations in 2023, which all came from flood control projects.

• Bernardo ordered him to give Estrada ₱355 million during the 2024 budget hearing.

• Bernardo ordered him to give ₱300 million to Revilla, who was then running for reelection as senator in 2025. The funds came from insertions in the 2024 national budget.

• Co became a proponent of projects in Bulacan’s first district with projects amounting to not less than ₱35 billion from 2022 to 2025. He delivered kickbacks to Co, in varying amounts.

Estrada and Villanueva have consistently denied involvement in the corruption scandal. Co, who is overseas, has sent word denying the accusations.  

After hearing Alcantara’s testimony, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the ex-district engineer’s affidavit would be “helpful to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Witness Protection Program in trying to file a case as soon as possible, as this is the demand of the people, this is what the people of the Philippines want.”

Remulla sought permission from Lacson to take Alcantara to the DOJ at that moment so his affidavit could be assessed, “and we can also ask him to sign certain documents that may be necessary to pursue the malefactors mentioned.”

Lacson granted Remulla’s request but specified that Alcantara be brought back to the Senate for the afternoon session. The justice secretary complied.

Alcantara, along with Hernandez and Mendoza, is now considered a protected witness by the DOJ, after having turned in documents and records that would substantiate the claims they made at the Senate inquiry.

Next testimony

Bernardo has been summoned to attend the next hearing scheduled today. Asked how important Bernardo’s testimony would be, Lacson said he himself wanted to hear what the ex-public works undersecretary has to say.

“I am also waiting what his testimony will be, in case it pushes through [on Thursday],” the blue ribbon committee chair said.

Later on Wednesday night, Lacson tweeted how he felt about the testimonies he had heard at the Senate inquiry: “With all that has been exposed so far by our Senate inquiry, even my ‘corruptionary’ won’t have the words for the insatiable greed of those government officials involved in what I can only describe as an ‘inside job robbery’ committed against the People of the Philippines.”