DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers in the Bulacan district split among themselves kickbacks that they get from “ghost” and substandard flood control contracts.
Former Bulacan 1st District engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez made the admission during the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee yesterday, which lasted for almost seven hours.
Hernandez told senators that whatever kickbacks or “commissions” that they get from irregular flood control projects (FCPs) were divided among former Bulacan 1st District engineer Henry Alcantara, who supposedly got 40 percent; Engineer Jaypee Mendoza, 20 percent; project engineer Paul Jason Daya, 20 percent, and himself, 20 percent.
“We split whatever we get from FCPs, Boss Henry gets 40 percent, I get 20 percent, Engineer Jaypee takes 20 percent, and Engineer Paul Daya also get 20 percent,” Hernandez said in Filipino on the questioning of Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito.
The embattled engineer made the statement after he was granted legislative immunity by the Senate committee to encourage him to divulge how ghost projects worked in their district.
Hernandez said their group allowed ghost and substandard FCPs so they can still pocket kickbacks despite the increase in the demanded commissions of project proponents.
He, however, did not name any project proponent during the hearing, saying that these were only known to Alcantara.
Mendoza confirmed Hernandez’s statement, saying: “This is what we call in-house contracting. Those who are part of the scheme are our Boss (Alcantara) who gets 40 percent of the share, Boss Brice gets 20 percent, I get 20 percent, and Engineer Paul Duya gets 20 percent.”
Alcantara denied that he got kickbacks from the FCPs.
At one point during the hearing, Senate pro tempore Panfilo Lacson, who is the committee chairperson, showed photos of millions of pesos laid on a table that were supposedly the kickbacks earned in anomalous FCPs that the DPWH officials counted in their office.
When asked about the piles of money, Hernandez claimed Alcantara allegedly told him that P16.5 million was to be given to a certain Undersecretary Mitch Cajayon, the name that was supposedly written in the paper bag where the money was placed.
Hernandez said he does not know to whom the rest of the money were given.
Alcantara, again, denied Hernandez’s statement.
Alcantara was later cited in contempt by the Senate committee for allegedly lying about his involvement and knowledge of the anomalies.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo said Alcantara has been lying to senators, noting that he kept passing the blame on his underlings.
Lacson said he also cannot accept Alcantara’s alibi that he does not know anything about the anomalous FCPs, pointing that the sacked district engineer frequented casinos with Hernandez, Mendoza and other district officials. Lacson has referred to the Bulacan engineers as the “BGC” Boys in his two-part privilege speech delivered at the Senate plenary.
Alcantara stood his ground and denied any hand in the FCP mess, prompting Tulfo to move that he be cited in contempt.
Lacson approved the motion when no committee member objected.
The Blue Ribbon Committee later ordered Alcantara to be detained in the Senate, on the motion of Sen. Raffy Tulfo.
The panel likewise cited Mendoza in contempt after he repeatedly denied his involvement in ghost projects despite his admission that he got kickbacks from the FCPs.
During the early part of the hearing, the Lacson panel also cited private contractor Curlee Discaya in contempt and ordered his detention at the Senate after he gave a conflicting reason why his wife, Sarah Discaya, was absent during yesterday’s hearing.
Curlee told the panel that his wife was not feeling well because of her heart condition complicated by diabetes.
But Lacson confronted him with an “excuse” letter that Sarah sent to the committee, seeking permission that she be excused from the hearing because she has a pre-scheduled meeting with their employees to discuss the present state of their companies.
Meanwhile, the Senate committee placed Sally Santos, owner of SYMS Construction, placed under its protective custody after she told the panel that unidentified men aboard vehicles have been casing her house.
After getting assurance that she will be under the protective custody of the Senate, Santos admitted that she was involved in lending her firm’s license in exchange for a 3 percent share in the contract price of FCPs.
She said she also borrowed the licenses of Wawo Builders and used these for the same scheme.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III advised the resource persons to invoke legislative immunity so they can freely disclose what they know about the anomalous FCPs.
Sotto disclosed during the hearing that he has received a letter from the Independent Commission Infrastructure (ICI) requiring Hernandez’s presence in its hearing.
He said he has already approved and signed the authority for Hernandez to attend the ICI investigation. Hernandez is under Senate custody after he was cited in contempt by the Blue Ribbon Committee when it was previously chaired by Marcoleta.
During the hearing, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said the agency will come out “in a week or two” with a list of ghost and substandard projects and the officials in relation to the FCP mess.
Dizon also said DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral has submitted her resignation “two nights ago,” which he said he has accepted.
Cabral has been named by Sotto and Lacson as the DPWH official who allegedly called a staff member of Sotto to ask if the senator wanted to “insert” P500 million worth of projects in the 2026 budget of the DPWH. Sotto has said that he declined the offer.
The Lacson committee will send a subpoena to Cabral mandating her attendance in the next hearing.
Mina Jose, the representative of WJ Construction has been tagged as among those involved in irregular FCPs, yesterday admitted that she was the woman captured on a CCTV footage on August 19, 2025.
Jose, in her opening statement, denied that she went to the Senate to deliver money to any senator.
She said she went to the Senate for an ocular inspection of the office veranda that Sen. Erwin wanted repaired, which the senator confirmed.
Sen. Erwin said he has since cancelled his office’s dealings with WJ Construction after the contractor was dragged in the FCP irregularity.
Jose, during questioning, admitted that before going to the senator’s office, she dropped by at the Blue Ribbon Oversight Office Management (BROOM) office “visit” her friend, Divina Gracia “Beng” Ramos and check on her medical status.
Hernandez has alleged during the House Infrastructure Committee hearing last week that he supposedly gave kickbacks to Ramos, whom he named as the purported bagman of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who supposedly got a 30 percent commission from P355 million worth of FCP contracts this year. Estrada has denied the allegation.
Sen. Joel Villanueva was also named by the ex-DPWH engineer as the supposed recipient of a 30 percent commission from FCPs worth P600 million in 2023. Villanueva has also denied the allegations.
