FORMER Bulacan First District Engineer Brice Hernandez of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) presented a photograph during a House committee hearing on Tuesday, showing bundles of cash allegedly collected from flood control projects.
According to Hernandez, the photo shows the money separated into piles, with papers indicating the intended recipients. “That’s in our office, in the Bulacan First District Engineering Office. The context is, as you can see, the money is separated. There are designated persons to whom that will be given, Your Honor,” Hernandez said.
“If I remember correctly, I took the picture. Because that’s the only time I saw that much money. It was my first time, I took a picture, I was happy. And that’s for, boss was organizing that,” he added, referring to his former boss, former Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara.
However, Hernandez did not specify who the money was intended for. “I don’t know who. We were just ordered to arrange the money. This amount is for this, prepare it there. Someone will be given that. That’s it,” he explained.
The presentation of the photo comes after contractor Sally Santos of SYMS Construction testified before the Senate on Monday that she delivered boxes of money to Hernandez’s office. Santos claimed that she may have delivered up to P1 billion in cash to the DPWH office over the past three years.
