FORMER Bulacan 1st district assistant engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez claimed Tuesday that Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, along with former DPWH 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara and Undersecretary Robert Bernardo, were involved in alleged anomalous flood control projects. Hernandez made the accusations during a House Infrastructure Committee hearing investigating the projects, requesting protection from the House, fearing for his safety if compelled to return to the Senate.
“Could you please not send me back to the Senate, your honor? Because there are senators involved here,” Hernandez stated. He claimed the senators received 30% “SOP” (standard operating procedure, a euphemism for kickbacks) from the projects, reading from a handwritten affidavit.
Hernandez specifically alleged that Senator Jinggoy Estrada released P355 million, with a 30% SOP delivered by drivers from the Bulacan District Engineer’s office.
He further claimed that Senator Joel Villanueva released P600 million in 2023, also with a 30% SOP. Hernandez has already been dismissed as a DPWH engineer due to his involvement in anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.
Alcantara, who was present at the hearing, denied the allegations. Senator Jinggoy Estrada vehemently denied Hernandez’s claims in a statement, challenging the former engineer to take a lie detector test publicly to determine who is telling the truth. The Senate blue ribbon committee had previously cited Hernandez in contempt for repeatedly denying information about his alleged casino ventures.
