Brice Hernandez has names of more senators tied to kickbacks, says counsel
MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bulacan First District assistant engineer Brice Hernandez may name four more senators involved in the budget insertions and alleged kickback scheme, his legal counsel said.
In an interview with One News PH's "Storycon" on Tuesday, September 23, legal counsel Raymond Fortun said there may be six senators involved in Bulacan First District's infrastructure projects. Two of them, as he is aware of, are no longer sitting senators.
"Kung ako po ang tatanungin ninyo, alam ko may anim na senador eh. ... Mayroon pong dalawang hindi incumbent, 'yung dalawa po ay ex," Fortun said.
(If you were to ask me, I know there are six senators. ... There are two who are no longer incumbent, the two are ex-senators.)
He, however, noted that a more definitive number of possible lawmakers would be revealed once his client's desktop computer is unsealed. It will be turned over to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, September 24, Fortun told Philstar.com in a message.
Hernandez already named two in the House Infra Committee's flood control probe, Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, admitting to having prepared commissions for the senators.
He claimed Estrada added P355 million to the 2025 Bulacan budget, and Villanueva inserted P600 million in 2023. These amounts matched actual items in the national budget and unprogrammed appropriations, as confirmed by Sen. Ping Lacson during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing. These involved projects for the construction of multi-purpose buildings and roads.
RELATED: Budget items linked to Villanueva, Estrada found in budget — Lacson
Fortun also shared that Hernandez has a long list of House lawmakers involved in the insertions and alleged kickback scheme, saying it could be longer when authorities like the Independent Commission for Infrastructure get a hold of Hernandez's computer.
Two of them were mentioned at the Senate hearing on Tuesday. These were Rep. Elizaldy Co (Ako Bicol Party-list), who is one of the most heavily accused of corruption, and former Rep. Mitch Cjayaon-Uy (Caloocan, 2nd District).
Fortun said it has to be understood that what Hernandez knows is limited to what happened in Bulacan's First District. For those asking why Sen. Chiz Escudero has not been implicated, he explained that it may only mean the senator was not a proponent of any project insertions in the province's district.
However, Escudero could have made them somewhere else, he said.
Hernandez has already voluntarily surrendered his luxury cars to the independent commission to show his willingness to cooperate and confess all that he knows about the alleged kickback scheme in infrastructure projects.
Fortun said he explained to Hernandez that if he is committed to applying for the Department of Justice's witness protection program, he has to show he is willing to "give up the things" he was "able to take."
"The reason for that, I said, is you cannot and should not hold onto any of your assets," Fortun said.
Hernandez has also submitted "a number of documents" to the ICI after the Senate, where he has been detained, allowed him to temporarily leave to retrieve evidence that would be helpful in the investigation.
This, Fortun said, is because Hernandez did not want to implicate others without proof.
Other dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers in Bulacan who have testified and tagged public officials include Henry Alcantara and Jaypee Mendoza.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is expected to file indirect bribery and malversation charges against Villanueva, Estrada and Co. The Anti-Money Laundering Council has also ordered to freeze their assets, and those of former DPWH Usec. Roberto Bernardo and Cajayon-Uy, while investigations are underway.
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