Where is retired DPWH Usec. Roberto Bernardo?

“A very powerful figure,” without the strut and swagger, and brilliant, too, is how those who know him describe retired Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.

No less than Sen. Ping Lacson, chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee, said the powerful Bernardo is practically the padrino of Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, the erstwhile DPWH engineers now on the hot seat because of the ongoing flood control mess.

And yet, and yet, we have not heard from Bernardo in any of the hearings.

He has previously said he is not guilty, but as the boss of the two engineers and the former DPWH undersecretary for operations, Bernardo himself can best clarify this nausea-inducing flood corruption scandal that his two subordinates have found themselves in.

“Mga bata talaga ito ni Bernardo. Bernardo is a very powerful figure under (former DPWH secretary Manuel) Bonoan,” Lacson said in an interview with the Bilyonaryo News Channel’s Pinky Webb aired over the weekend.

Bernardo was also among the DPWH executives whom the Discayas earlier mentioned as among those involved in the web of corruption – supposedly soliciting money from contractors like them after securing the projects.

Note, too, that Lacson, in his second privilege speech, linked Bernardo and Bonoan to a contractor of flood control projects in Bulacan – MBB Global Properties Corp., of which the children of Bernardo and Bonoan are among the owners.

Against this backdrop, it would be in Bernardo’s best interest to speak out and clarify the issues.

His DPWH profile described him as undersecretary for regional operations in the Visayas, NCR and Region IV-B with overall supervision and control of all infrastructure projects. Surely, he has a lot of explaining to do about how these substandard, ghost or overpriced projects happened under his watch, whether or not his boys went rogue or if he himself had any involvement.

The rumor mill is abuzz with insider talk and speculations, saying Bernardo may have already left the country last month even as DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon earlier requested the issuance of an immigration lookout bulletin order on contractors and DPWH officials, including Bernardo.

This is not to say that his absence is an indication of guilt. But Bernardo, a long-time veteran at DPWH, might be the missing link between his two men, Alcantara and Hernandez, and perhaps the rest of the BGC Boys in DPWH and the politicians who were involved in this dizzying corruption saga.

‘Conscience is clear’

In a statement in early August, Bernardo said there is no truth to the claim he had been dismissed from the department or was involved in any irregularity.

“My conscience is clear,” Bernardo said in a statement published on Aug. 8.

He also said he had faithfully served DPWH and that he has no pending administrative case.

Bernardo, indeed, has 30 years of experience at the beleaguered department where he rose from the ranks, starting as a civil engineering aide in 1986.

Insiders describe him as brilliant. Perhaps, it’s no wonder he received the prestigious Most Outstanding Alumnus Award for Government Service from the Mapua Institute of Technology, the institution where he completed his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1984.

Industry sources attest to his humble beginnings as well as his rise to power and prominence, with a string of properties, cars and luxury watches believed to be in his possession.

Again, only he can explain this and so I ask again, where in the world is retired DPWH Usec. Bernardo?

The protests

But it’s not only Bernardo whom people would like to hear from.

At Sunday’s big protests, calls for accountability reverberated in the streets where tens of thousands rallied amid the scorching Sunday heat and the afternoon rains.

They wanted resigned Senate president Chiz Escudero, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, resigned House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former appropriations chairman Zaldy Co, currently on leave, among others, to be held accountable.

The rallyists chanted and shouted ’til it hurt. They raised their fists, sang and shouted p#tang ina! They lit candles, they prayed to the high heavens, threw rocks and sticks and burned a barricade.

The fuse has been lit.

The people are angry, no doubt, and while Sunday’s protests weren’t like EDSA in 1986 or the recent protests in Indonesia or Nepal, this fury may one day spread like wildfire, shaking the nation like never before.

Let us not forget that the great revolutions of history were always provoked by deep injustice and stark inequality – from the French, the Bolsheviks, the Chinese and many more.

Who does not know the words of Marie Antoinette, the extravagant and out of touch queen?

“Let them eat cake” she allegedly uttered upon being told that starving peasants had no bread.

Our leaders and politicians would do well to study history and the long list of mankind’s uprisings.

Take note of what happened to Marie Antoinette, she whose lavish lifestyle became the symbol of the deep injustice that plagued France. In the end, amid Parisians’ anger, the queen and her king were executed by guillotine.

There is always a tipping point.

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