A FORMER assistant district engineer from Bulacan on Tuesday said Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva received kickbacks equivalent to 30 percent of the budget for flood control projects in Hagonoy, Malolos and Balagtas, a claim the senators immediately denied.

Testifying before the House Infrastructure Committee, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez said Estrada channeled P355 million of projects to Hagonoy and Malolos and took a 30-percent kickback, while Villanueva released P600 million worth of projects in Balagtas and also took a 30-percent cut.

Hernandez said his boss at the time, Henry Alcantara, who has since been fired, directly coordinated with the politicians. Alcantara, however, denied Hernandez’s claims

Estrada denied Hernandez’s claims and challenged him to take a lie detector test so that everyone would know who was telling the truth.”

“Talk is cheap. I am ready to prove that all that he said against me were pure lies,” he said in a text message.

Villanueva said he was “surprised when someone dragged my name into the flood control projects in our beloved province of Bulacan.”

“I have never been involved in a flood control project,” Villanueva said.

Hernandez was at the House after Senate President Vicente Sotto III allowed him to attend the parallel probe on flood control projects, after he was detained at the Senate on Monday for contempt for denying his frequent visits to casinos.

At the House, Hernandez appealed to lawmakers not to send him back to the Senate.

Rep. Terry Ridon, panel chairman, said he would coordinate with the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to allow Hernandez to remain in the House’s custody.

Villanueva dismissed Hernandez’s accusation in a privilege speech as he deplored the alleged “demolition job” against him. “I am more than willing to undergo any investigation because I’m not hiding anything. I will never betray my principle,” he said in Filipino and English.

“Today, they again attempted to drag my name in these flood control projects in my province of Bulacan. I repeat, Mr. President, I don’t have any flood control projects,” Villanueva said in Filipino.

“I will not say that I categorically deny this accusation because I have receipts. Somebody can verify how this happened,” he added.

Villanueva showed a video of him questioning the failed flood control projects in Bulacan two years ago, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also visited this year.

Senators Estrada and Villanueva deny getting kickbacks after former engineer tags them in House hearing

He said his name surfaced in the engineer’s statement because he possesses affidavits of DPWH Bulacan personnel.

The senator said he was supposed to present the affidavit in Monday’s Senate hearing, but he failed to attend.

“Mr. President, we speak about this repeatedly in the Senate, where is the P1.4-billion budget of the government for flood control?” Villanueva said.

Villanueva said he would remain focused on finding a real solution to the floods in Bulacan.

“I will not be distracted by lies. Instead, I reaffirm my commitment to the work that truly matters — serving our people with honesty and integrity,” Villanueva said.

‘Forced to cooperate’

At the same House hearing, Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya said they were forced to cooperate with the “system.”

In his affidavit, Discaya said in Filipino, “We never wanted to be involved in this kind of system. But we needed to continue for our family and employees.... We really did not want to be involved in this kind of system. But of course, we were forced to give [money] because the project would not push through if we do not give [money].”

He answered in the affirmative when Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro asked whether he was referring to Public Works officials and some lawmakers he identified in his affidavit.

He said, “We join public biddings. When the project is awarded and there is a notice to proceed, that’s when we are asked [for money]. The project would not be implemented or finished if we do not give [money].”

Current and former lawmakers have denied the accusation against them.

Lawmakers also took Discaya to task for limiting his testimony to the years 2022 and 2023, when his companies had won huge contracts since 2016.

Discaya violations

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto detailed the operations and alleged violations of Curlee and Cezarah Discaya at the same House committee hearing.

Sotto said the couple, through their construction firm St. Gerard Construction and eight other companies based in Pasig, had become “huge contractors” using dummies.

“Practically all of these companies have tax deficiencies, probably with the BIR as well, but definitely with the LGU,” he told lawmakers, adding that Curlee Discaya was recently convicted of two counts of building code violations.

He said the nine firms were notorious in Pasig, and while they still managed to win small city projects through public bidding during his term as mayor, their contracts with the Department of Public Works and Highways were “huge.”

“What we are talking about now is P30 billion to P31 billion of flood control projects. Their total contracts in our government is not less than P100 billion,” Sotto said.

The mayor also pressed the committee to examine what he described as lies in the couple’s sworn statements before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

“They said that in this case, the liar is the wife of the thief,” Sotto remarked.

He disputed their claim that contractors only earn 2 to 3 percent per project, calling it “a blatant lie.”

“No sane business person would bid to lose money. If we compute, 2-3 percent of even P100 billion is just P2 billion to P3 billion. Yet they bragged about having ‘11 digits’ money, meaning not less than ₱10 billion,” Sotto said., This news data comes from:http://www.705-888.com

He pointed to the couple’s display of luxury assets, including a jade piece worth ₱100 million and a fleet of expensive cars, saying such wealth could not have been amassed if their profit margins were that low.

Sotto also warned the committee that the Discayas were trying to confuse investigators.

“They don’t just drop names, they want to mess up the story. They want to confuse us. We have to be careful because these are people who are really capable of lying without batting an eyelash,” he said.

Senators Estrada and Villanueva deny getting kickbacks after former engineer tags them in House hearing

He added that while some names mentioned by the couple may be true, their testimony needed to be backed by evidence.

“All the people in this room know that there are guilty senators, congressmen, DPWH officials, contractors, and other government agencies. But we cannot allow the truth to disappear like a bubble,” Sotto said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sotto said he attended the hearing simply because he has been invited. “I was invited or summoned, so I will go,” Sotto said.

Sotto questioned the credibility of Curlee and Cezarah Discaya following their testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday.

He said while some legislators, Public Works officials, and contractors were clearly guilty, the Discaya couple was “clearly inclined to become state witness” to avoid imprisonment.