SEN. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday vehemently denied accusations made by sacked public works engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez before the House Infrastructure Committee that he allegedly got a 30 percent commission from a total of P355 million flood control projects in Bulacan this year.
Hernandez, former assistant district engineer of Bulacan’s 1st Engineering District, had claimed that Estrada and Sen. Joel Villanueva allegedly received kickbacks from flood control projects that they supposedly funded.
Hernandez told congressmen that Villanueva also got a 30 percent commission in 2023 from flood control projects in Bulacan worth P600 million.
In a Viber message to reporters, Estrada said: “I categorically and vehemently deny the claims made by Brice Hernandez. I challenge him: Let us take a lie detector test before the public para malaman ng lahat kung sino ang nagsasabi ng totoo (to determine who between us is telling the truth). Talk is cheap — handa akong patunayan na pawang mga kasinungalingan ang sinasabi nya tungkol sa akin (I am ready to prove that what he said about me are all lies).”
Later in a press conference, Estrada said he is conferring with his lawyers about the possible filing of charges against Hernandez.
The senator said the P355 million Hernandez was referring to can be found in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“Everybody can choose any item in the GAA and they can put the blame on a senator. That’s a big lie,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Estrada said Hernandez could just be getting back at him for grilling him during last Monday’s hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
He said the sacked engineer could be capitalizing on the joke made by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who was still the committee chairman at the time, about him being “safe” when contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya said they did not pay kickbacks to any senator.
Estrada said prudence dictates that if he really got commissions or kickbacks, he would have abstained from attending the hearing.
“I will not allow him to drag my name on his imaginations and fabricated statements,” he said.
“First of all, I don’t know him. I have never met that guy. Common sense will tell that I will not be actively participating in the hearing if he has given me kickbacks, I should have abstained. I have the courage to attend the hearing because I know I have not done anything wrong,” he said.
He said he also does not know Henry Alcantara, whose picture with him was shown during the House hearing, adding that people usually ask to have their pictures taken with him when they see him in public.
Villanueva stood up during yesterday afternoon’s session and made a formal manifestation denying Hernandez’s allegations.
He said he does not know anything about flood control projects especially in his province of Bulacan.
“Wala po akong kailanman naging flood control project (I have no flood control projects,” he said, citing his previous interjections and manifestations on the floor since 2023 where he has been raising questions on the billions of pesos worth of flood control projects, which he said were being wasted because the country still suffers form massive floodings.
Villanueva alleged his accuser has a “boss” who he claimed could have instructed Hernandez to “attack” him He did not elaborate.
“Sino ba ang amo niya, Mr. President? Sino ba ang naglagay sa kanya bilang tagapag-bantay ng national budget? (Who is his boss. Mr. President? Who was it that entrusted him to guard the national budget?),” he asked without giving additional details.
He said that he is willing to participate in any investigation since “wala akong tinatago (I have nothing to hide).
“I will tell all, what I know, in the next hearings. There will be no sacred cows like what I have been saying before. And Mr. President, I will never destroy my name that was given to me by my parents because it’s priceless, Mr. President),” Villanueva said.
