Alcantara ready to give up ill-gotten wealth, says Remulla
MANILA, Philippines — Former Bulacan First District engineer Henry Alcantara is willing to return the alleged ill-gotten wealth he acquired, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
Remulla said this in an interview with reporters on Tuesday, September 23, when asked if Alcantara is willing to return the anomalous fund he allegedly acquired.
“We haven’t gotten to the bottom of everything yet, but the gesture for restitution is there,” Remulla said in an interview with reporters, following Alcantara’s evaluation for eligibility for the witness protection program.
Remulla also said that there may be other witnesses who may apply for witness protection.
“We will have to vet another one because we got a letter from a lawyer asking that we also consider Brice Hernandez as a state witness,” Remulla said.
After the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Remulla brought Alcantara on Tuesday morning for the evaluation of his eligibility for the witness protection program.
In a Senate investigation, Alcantara revealed that Sens. Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, along with Rep. Zaldy Co of Ako Bicol Party-list, accepted kickbacks from the national budget. He also implicated former lawmakers Bong Revilla and Mitch Cajayon.
Remulla then returned to the Senate and said that the Anti-Money Laundering Council also ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of Alcantara and the officials mentioned.
He also revealed that the National Bureau of Investigation has recommended the filing of indirect bribery and malversation charges against Alcantara, Villanueva, Estrada and Co.
What Alcantara said. During the evaluation for the witness protection program, Alcantara’s affidavit corroborated the earlier testimony from dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza.
Alcantara accused Co of receiving a 20% kickback from P35 billion in budget insertions since 2022.
He further claimed that Estrada and Villanueva were involved in similar schemes, with Estrada allegedly inserting P355 million for kickbacks and Villanueva adding P600 million to the national budget for the same purpose.
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