Alcantara bares 30% kickback scheme

MANILA, Philippines — Several lawmakers and a former undersecretary were behind the alleged anomalous budget insertions and kickbacks from flood control projects in Bulacan from 2022 to 2025 worth hundreds of billions of pesos, sacked public works district engineer Henry Alcantara said in a sworn affidavit he read before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee yesterday.

Alcantara, who served as officer-in-charge assistant regional director of DPWH Region 4-A and district engineer of Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, pointed to former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo as a central figure in what he described as a systemic scheme involving billions of pesos worth of projects.

The projects were inserted into the National Expenditure Program (NEP), bicameral conference reports and the General Appropriations Act.

Bernardo, who purportedly facilitated Alcantara’s appointment as district engineer of Bulacan in 2019, allegedly funneled billions in infrastructure allocations to Bulacan’s first district.

Alcantara claimed that projects were approved in exchange for a 20 to 30 percent “proponent’s share,” referring to the kickbacks senators and congressmen allegedly asked for in return for pushing for funding for flood control projects.

In 2022, Alcantara said a total of P350 million was released to the Bulacan first district, 25 percent of which went to lawmakers. The amount was supposed to fund flood control projects along Angat and Balagtas rivers and a drainage in Malolos.

In 2023, Bernardo allegedly released P710 million – P450 million of which was inserted into the NEP and P260 million to the bicam. Lawmakers again got 25 percent of the total funds, supposedly intended for building multiple revetments and slope protections, as well as improvement of waterways in Bulacan.

By 2024, lawmakers had raised their required kickbacks to 30 percent for flood control and retained 25 percent for other projects. A total of P3.3 billion was released for flood control structures in Plaridel, Guiguinto and Malolos as well as several other infrastructure.

For this year, lawmakers got 25 percent of P2.55 billion for large-scale flood control structures, drainage systems, bypass roads and river protection structures across Baliuag, Pandi, Plaridel, Malolos, Guiguinto, and Balagtas.

Alcantara said his driver would pick up lawmaker-proponents and drop them off at a spot near Bernardo’s car at the parking area – usually of high-end hotels in Metro Manila – where cash would be loaded directly from Bernardo’s vehicle.

Same old faces

In Alcantara’s affidavit, he named incumbent Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada as among the proponents, while former senator Bong Revilla also allegedly received kickbacks.

These lawmakers also figured prominently in the PDAF scam in 2013.

Villanueva allegedly began seeking kickbacks from his supposed insertions in 2022, during which he asked for a P1.5-billion multipurpose building.

“Out of P1.5 billion, only P600 million was allowed for the multipurpose building. This didn’t sit well with Sen. Joel, so Usec. Bernardo and I came up with a plan,” Alcantara said in Filipino.

To appease the senator, Alcantara said Bernardo ordered that Villanueva be given projects that would give him P150 million in kickback or 25 percent of the project cost under the 2023 unprogrammed appropriations of the DPWH.

Alcantara said Villanueva was unaware that these were flood control projects, which the senator reportedly disliked.

He said the amount was delivered to Villanueva’s aide “Peng” at a resthouse in Barangay Igulot in Bocaue.

While Estrada allegedly did not have any direct transactions with DPWH officials, Alcantara said he was ordered to release P355 million “that’s still available” in 2024.

Alcantara said the order was made while they were attending the DPWH’s 2024 budget hearing at the Senate.

Estrada allegedly received P88,750,000 or 25 percent of the total budget that was supposed to fund flood control projects in Hagonoy, Calumpit and Malolos.

The allegations against the two senators were first raised during Brice Hernandez’s testimony before the House of Representatives.

Revilla, who lost his senate reelection bid earlier this year, allegedly bankrolled his campaign with P90 million worth of kickbacks from flood control projects. The amount was 30 percent of the P300 million he allegedly inserted in the 2024 budget.

The funds Revilla allegedly got were supposed to fund flood control projects in Plaridel, Guiguinto and Malolos.

Estrada and Revilla spent time in detention in 2014 for plunder over the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam. Both were later acquitted of plunder.

Estrada’s graft case over the pork barrel scam is ongoing. He also successfully overturned his conviction for bribery.

When he was still the representative of CIBAC party-list – which stands for Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption – in Congress, Villanueva was accused of misusing P10 million in pork barrel funds.

He had also been ordered dismissed from public office in 2016 by the Office of the Ombudsman, but this was not enforced by the Senate. Villanueva also was not among the lawmakers charged before the Sandiganbayan.

In the case of Co who is still abroad, Alcantara said the lawmaker downloaded P35.024 billion for 426 projects in the area covered by the Bulacan first district engineering office from 2022 to 2025.

Co received 20 percent to 25 percent “obligations” from these projects, according to Alcantara.

This means Co’s alleged kickbacks during those three years amounted to P8.7 billion in the Bulacan first district engineering office alone.

Alcantara cited the photos previously presented showing bundles of cash on the table in two separate offices.

Cash for Co?

He said the cash was reserved for Co, the former chair of the House appropriations committee.

The first photo – supposedly of P519 million – was taken in the Bulacan district engineering office, and the other photo of P579 million laid down on a billiards table was taken in the so-called “tambayan” owned by Alcantara’s alleged “bagman” Loren Cruz.

Alcantara said he personally delivered Co’s kickbacks through the congressman’s aide “Alyas Paul” and “Alyas Mark,” at the parking lot of the Shangri-La Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, or in Co’s house in Valle Verde, Pasig.

It was at their “tambayan” where they split the illegal loot among themselves and prepared some for delivery to the proponents. Cruz, who was at the hearing, denied being a bagman, saying he is a businessman.

“The allegations made against me during today’s Senate hearing are false and baseless. I reserve my right to respond to these allegations at the proper time before the proper forum,” Co said in a statement.

Rep. Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, has filed an ethics complaint against Co for his continued absence. “Despite efforts to pacify the public, the public’s demand to hold liable those responsible for the insertions remains a roaring outcry of the people. However, Co remains silent and beyond reach,” Tiangco said. Co has been absent since the 20th Congress opened on July 28.

In the case of the former Caloocan congresswoman Cajayon-Uy, Alcantara said he met Uy in 2021 and was asked if she could download her funds to the Bulacan district engineering office for implementation.

Alcantara said he met Uy at a restaurant along Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City to hand over her 10 percent commission from a P411-million project.

Senators lauded Hernandez for finally naming Co for his role in the flood control mess. “Alcantara finally named the missing link – Zaldy Co,” said Sen. JV Ejercito.

All substandard

Also at yesterday’s Senate hearing, Hernandez testified that all projects carried out by Bulacan’s First District Engineering Office since 2019 have been substandard due to kickback by lawmakers and government officials.

Sen. Bam Aquino pressed Hernandez to clarify if the practice extended beyond flood control projects. Hernandez replied that projects were not implemented based on the approved design.

The projects included classrooms, hospitals, roads, bridges, street lights and etc.

Hernandez said the First District handles projects in at least three congressional districts in the city. Bulacan has six congressional districts as of 2021.

He said these all began when Alcantara was appointed district engineer in 2019.

Hernandez explained that while plans and budgets existed, the funds were divided among officials and contractors, leaving no resources to deliver projects according to specifications.

Aquino underscored the gravity of Hernandez’s testimony, noting that it suggested corruption has undermined all public infrastructure in Bulacan.

“We are investigating flood control. Now there’s an admission that all projects including classrooms, hospitals, bridges, were all substandard,” he said.

Former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan, when confronted, denied knowledge of the matter despite overseeing the agency and regional offices and DEOs since 2022.

He pointed to DPWH bureau of construction director Alan Borromeo as the one responsible for monitoring projects from 2022 to 2025.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo pressed engineers on the safety of government structures in Bulacan, stressing the risks posed by structures constructed not based on approved plans.

“If the building is substandard… what if there’s an earthquake, how safe are we in government structures now?”

Hernandez explained that contractors were supposed to follow plans provided by agencies such as the Department of Health, but in practice, designs were altered. — Neil Jayson Serval los, Delon Porcalla