Two senators were name-dropped by a former district engineer during the flood control probe by the Philippine House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Brice Hernandez, former assistant district engineer in Bulacan, testified that his supervisor, district engineer Henry Alcantara, said Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva demanded a 30 percent cut, which they received once the items appeared in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“Senator (Rodante) Marcoleta said yesterday that he is safe. It’s not true. Senator Jinggoy Ejercito, Senator Joel Villanueva, Undersecretary Robert Bernardo and DE (district engineer) Alcantara. It was Senator Jinggoy who inserted the PHP355 million in the 2025 (budget) for some projects in Bulacan,” Hernandez said according to Inquirer.net.
“Senator Jinggoy gave his SOP at 30 percent as per our District Engineer Henry Alcantara. It was delivered when the items in GAA were revealed. While in 2023, Sen. Joel Villanueva inserted PHP600 million and his SOP was also 30 percent,” he added
The former Department of Public Works and Highways employee also showed screenshots of an alleged conversation between Alcantara and Villanueva.
Meanwhile, Alcantara refuted Hernandez’s claims, according to a report by The Manila Times.
Hernandez had previously inquired as to whether he might no longer be returned to the Senate because a sitting senator is implicated in the nation’s infrastructure anomalies.
He was also ordered to be detained at the Senate after being cited for contempt for allegedly lying before the Senate blue ribbon committee.
Estrada and Villanueva deny involvement in the flood control mess.
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Senators quick to clear their name
After being linked to the flood control investigations during a probe by the House of Representatives, Senators Jinggoy Ejercito and Joel Villanueva were quick to release their statements in an effort to clear their names.
Through a press conference on Tuesday, Estrada said that he will file a case against former Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez for dragging his name into the flood control controversy.
“I will file a case against him,” Estrada said according to Inquirer.net, adding that Hernandez’s allegations are fabricated.
He also challenged Hernandez to take a lie detector test with him to discover the liar between them.
As for the PHP355 million in Bulacan infrastructures he allegedly inserted in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), he said: “All of that is in the GAA. Anybody can choose a line item from the GAA and blame it on a senator.”
“What he’s saying about the changes to the projects is a big lie.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Joel Villanueva also vehemently denied any links between him and the flood control mess, saying that he “will not betray my principle”.
“It is not only categorically denying the allegations being thrown at my name. We have receipts that could easily be verified. I am more than willing to undergo and participate in any investigation because I am not hiding anything,” he said.
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