Henry Alcantara returns P110 million in flood control scam
MANILA, Philippines — Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Henry Alcantara, a self-confessed conspirator in the flood control scam, has returned P110 million to the country’s coffers.
At a media conference on Friday, November 28, Department of Justice (DOJ) officer-in-charge Fredderick Vida said Alcantara returned a portion of the amount he admitted stealing.
The returned amount will serve as restitution as Alcantara petitions to become a state witness, Vida said.
As it stands, Alcantara is provisionally admitted into the Witness Protection Program.
Verifying the cash. Vida said the returned money will undergo vetting to ensure the amount is correct and to check for counterfeit bills. After such process, the funds will be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury.
However, the P110 million represents only part of the estimated P300 million that Alcantara allegedly siphoned off public funds.
Asked why the full amount was not returned, Vida said several factors were involved, including Alcantara's detention by the Senate, which made it difficult to consolidate all the funds.
The DOJ, however, does not know how Alcantara obtained the P110 million he surrendered. Should more funds be returned, the DOJ said it would be preferable for the restitution to be made in cash.
Palace: More funds to be recovered
In a video statement, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. praised the recovery effort and claimed that an additional P200 million would be returned.
“This government intends to bring back every peso, every asset, every person responsible and return it to the Filipino people,” Marcos said.
Alcantara, the former district engineer of Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, is one of the key players in the Bulacan flood control scam.
The Bulacan flood control kickback scheme implicated lawmakers such as Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Joel Villanueva and most significantly, Zaldy Co.
Alcantara admitted receiving kickbacks and delivering cash to Co, who remains at large.
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