Bernardo to return kickbacks from flood projects

MANILA, Philippines — Former public works undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, among the central figures in tagging government officials and lawmakers in flood control kickback schemes, has pledged to return the money he allegedly received from the kickbacks, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.

“At a very minimum, Mr. Bernardo is, first of all, here in the Philippines. He did not run. Secondly, from what I saw of his statement, he has remorse and is asking for forgiveness from his countrymen and is returning the money,” Gatchalian told dzBB in Filipino.

Asked whether Bernardo had already returned the money, the senator said restitution was part of the procedure to be state witness.

“That’s what I know. Remember, to be a state witness, there needs to be restitution, right? That’s part of it. Part of the Memorandum of Agreement they signed includes ‘restitution.’ That means, it will be returned,” he said.

Gatchalian said the pledge added weight to his testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, during which Bernardo implicated several incumbent and former senators, as well as his former boss, ex-Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan, in the alleged kickback scheme in flood control and other infrastructure projects.

While the Department of Justice has yet to declare Bernardo a state witness, Gatchalian said at the very least, Bernardo has pledged to return the money he got from alleged kickbacks.

In his testimony, Bernardo claimed he spoke directly with Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former senator Bong Revilla – even alleging that Revilla was present during the delivery of boxes of cash – but his references to Senators Francis Escudero and Mark Villar and to former senators Grace Poe, Sonny Angara and Nancy Binay involved intermediaries rather than direct conversations.

“At least there’s a pledge to return the money. And thirdly, he has signed (the agreement) and will be a state witness – he’s here. So, in other words, there’s a huge possibility… Now, I’m not saying what he’s saying is completely accurate – there’s a huge possibility to what he’s saying,” he said.

Gatchalian noted that Bernardo’s decision to remain in the Philippines, rather than flee, and his show of remorse further differentiates him from other whistleblowers.

He, however, emphasized that the allegations must undergo a deeper investigation, especially since many of the transactions described by Bernardo involved intermediaries rather than direct contact with the officials named, raising the possibility that some people’s names may have been misused or dropped without their knowledge.