Alcantara admits to gambling, accepting luxury cars; but denies corruption
MANILA, Philippines — Sacked Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer Henry Alcantara admitted that he accepted two luxury cars from subordinate Brice Hernandez, but remained adamant that he knew nothing of the flood control kickback scheme in Bulacan.
Hernandez had accused Alcantara and Sens. Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada of being involved in the multi-million peso kickback scheme.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, Hernandez said that he gave his former boss a luxury car, which Alcantara admitted to accepting and eventually returning.
Hernandez and other engineers gave Alcantara a GMC truck and a Land Cruiser (LC300). The price of a GMC truck varies, but it could reach as high as P5.7 million, while a Land Cruiser can cost around the same.
“I was given an LC300 (Land Cruiser) and a GMC to be exact,” Alcantara said.
The engineers’ versions of events, however, were different.
Alcantara claimed that he was given two cars—without his prompting. Hernandez said that his old boss told him to get it for him.
Hernandez also accused Alcantara of asking him to buy a P5 million Patek watch.
When it came to the viral photo featuring stacks of cash at a DPWH office, Alcantara initially refused to confirm if it was him in the photo.
“Possible pong ako,” Alcantara said. (It is possible that it was me.)
Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson was irate, saying that it was him. After a different angle of the photo was flashed, Alcantara seemed to change his tune.
“Nandoon po lahat naman kami doon eh,” the former district engineer said. (We were all there.)
Alcantara also admitted to going to casinos, but insisted that it was his own money, as he has a restaurant business.
Despite accepting luxury cars and being in the viral photo, Alcantara washed his hands of any knowledge of a corruption scheme.
But senators refused to accept this, with Sens. Kiko Pangilinan and Erwin Tulfo pointing out that the presence of such large sums of money and luxury items from his subordinates should have raised questions.
“Bakit hindi mo inalam?” Pangilinan asked Alcantara. (Why did you not ask?)
In the days following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call to probe flood control corruption, Alcantara allegedly called a meeting with his employees in the DPWH Bulacan first district.
Again, two different versions of the event were presented in the Senate.
In Alcantara’s version, he blasted engineers Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza for their alleged role in ghost flood control projects. He also urged the DPWH employees to just tell the truth.
In Hernandez’s version, however, Alcantara allegedly told him and Mendoza to be the fall guys for the kickback schemes. The former district engineer also allegedly threatened the other DPWH employees that if they implicated him, he had evidence to take them down as well.
A day after the Senate hearing, Hernandez met with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, where he voluntarily turned over the luxury vehicles he bought.
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