Linked senators, officials point fingers over DPWH issue

Agpoon, Dexter

September 23, 2025

List of former and current officials, senators named by ex-DPWH Engr. Henry Alcantara linked to flood conttrol mess during the September 23 Blue Ribbon hearing. Photo from DZRH Web.

MANILA — Testifying before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Tuesday, September 23, ex-Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Henry Alcantara lit a series of narratives and allegations as he unveiled the network of lawmakers and government officials who are linked to the infamous ‘ghost’ flood control projects and kickback schemes.

The dismissed Bulacan 1st District engineer unraveled the arrangement and what seemed to be the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of the anomalies, citing the kickbacks and shares that officials acquired — ranging from 20 to 30% — labeled as commissions.

“Narito po ako sa harapan ninyo upang tumulong nang buong puso sa abot ng aking makakaya, upang makapagbigay linaw sa [mga] katanungan sa imbestigasyong ito,” (I’m testifying before this hearing to help wholeheartedly, to the extent of my ability, in order to clarify the questions revolving around this investigation), Alcantara stated as he clarified his motion to appear before the hearing, tied with an internal desire to be admitted in the Witness Protection Program.

Tossing out blames.

Alcantara enumerated the following solons related to the ongoing issues, namely: senators Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, ex-senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co and ex-House lawmaker Mitch Cajayon.

In his narrative and testimony, Alcantara first named former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo as a middleman between the project proponents and the stated government officials, wherein each transaction gained what they called “proponent’s share” amounting to 20 to 30% of a project’s value.

He further claimed that funds and their respective deliveries were oftentimes checked, managed, and passed through Bernardo; the remaining instances were situations where “shares” were directly sent to the officials without any supervision.

Scheming scandals.

Alcantara testified that the alleged series of schemes began in 2022, particularly at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, when Bernardo organized ₱350 million worth of projects for Bulacan’s First District while Alcantara himself was ordered to send ₱70 million in cash to Bernardo’s vehicle driver.

Same year but months after, Alcantara claimed that Villanueva acquired ₱600 million fund allocations for simply a multi-purpose building, wherein a portion amounting to ₱150 million were given to one of Villanueva’s minions named “Peng”, specifically at a rest house in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Alcantara quickly made another note with regard to this narrative, stating, “The senator himself [Villanueva] was not aware that these funds came from flood control projects.”

High-hitting kickback rates.

In 2023, Alcantara noted that the allocations expanded to ₱710 million — ₱260 million from the General Appropriations Act (GGA) combined with the ₱450 million from the National Expenditure Program — which rose even higher when Bernardo increased the amount of shares to 25%.

A year after, in 2024, the allocation of funds in ill-purpose escalated intensely, having Bulacan projects cuts of devastatingly high amounts, worth ₱3.3 billion, with commissions heightening to 30% as scams and money schemes.

Furthermore, Alcantara brought the other officials’ scams to light, continuing with Revilla who allegedly acquired ₱300 million-worth of funds tied to flood control works in Guiguinto and Plaridel, along with Estrada who was given funds for pumping stations worth ₱355 million — wherein all kickbacks being funneled through Bernardo.

Another man behind the mischief.

Reaching 2025, Alcantara noted that the actions of scheming kickbacks and shares from corrupted projects for the public still continued this year, citing projects that are worth more than ₱2.55 billion with the same amount of commission — 25%.

Alcantara, after dropping countless bombs of allegations, closed the testimony with the biggest one — putting former lawmaker Zaldy Co at the pedestal of the scams — calling him as the “patron” of the operations in Bulacan for overseeing a total of 426 projects worth ₱35 billion from 2022 to 2025; showing corruptness at its finest by providing proofs and photographs of large cash deliveries linked to the kickbacks.

With all of the officials named and publicized, the political circle became a circus where the seated solons and individuals throw jabs and point fingers — no one dared to show evident evidence of them being clean-handed but rather, poke and provoke the Filipino masses with their endless feud.

The aftermath.

After Alcantara affirmed that his testimonies and disclosures were all intended to support the ongoing Senate probe, he also made the action in order to gain protection as witness; however, the decision is at the hands of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Moreover, his claims also brought out more suspicions and questions as the nation continued to wonder and call for transparency regarding budget allocations for infrastructural projects; particularly the cases of ‘ghost’ and substandard flood control projects in Bulacan, posing a series of further investigations.

The hearing scheduled today is only one of the many more Senate Blue Ribbon Committee sessions to occur because it is clear that there are no concrete decisions yet regarding the jurisdiction, the aftermath, and the possible effects of these rising tides of issues to the country — none will emerge as long as the lawmakers continue their game of pointing fingers.