Ex-DPWH exec who named senators to stay under PNP custody — Sotto
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Tito Sotto has decided to allow former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official Brice Hernandez to stay at the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center.
While in police custody, Hernandez will be supervised by the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA).
During the House of Representatives’ probe into flood control anomalies, Hernandez tagged Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva in kickback schemes. Estrada allegedly had P355 million in flood control projects in Bulacan, while Villanueva allegedly inserted P600 million in projects.
The decision was reached in coordination with House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“To make sure he is safe but still in custody of the Senate, the Speaker and I agreed to place him in the PNP custodial center but under the supervision of the Senate OSAA,” Sotto said.
Sotto’s decision to keep Hernandez under police custody defies one of Sen. Chiz Escudero’s last orders as Senate president: to detain the former DPWH official inside the Senate after he was held in contempt.
However, Hernandez had begged House lawmakers not to return him to the Senate.
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. assured that Hernandez would be kept safe as long as he told the truth.
Estrada has denied all the allegations made against him, challenging Hernandez to take a lie detector test.
“I am confident that I have not committed any illegal act. If Mr. Hernandez truly stands by his allegations, I challenge him to take a lie detector test with me. Let us settle this once and for all, and show the public who is telling the truth,” Estrada told the media.
Hernandez was a DPWH assistant engineer in Bulacan, a growing hotspot for ghost flood control projects.
Central to the Bulacan ghost flood control projects is sacked Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara, who admitted to not checking the progress of the structures before marking them as complete.
However, the story appears to go deeper than a government official being negligent at his job, with lawmakers from both chambers of Congress being tagged in the flood control mess.
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