Dismissed Public Works and Highways Bulacan 1st District Engineer Brice Hernandez was returned to the Senate detention facility on Monday morning.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III in a statement said he approved a request from Hernandez’s lawyers to transfer him back to Senate custody from Pasay City Jail.
Sotto said Hernandez’s lawyers requested the transfer on Monday, writing that to allow him to remain in the Senate would “affirm that the institution does not turn away from difficult truths, nor cast aside those who risk their safety to speak them.”
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee cited Hernandez for contempt on September 8, alleging he consistently lied during their hearing.
While in Senate custody, Hernandez was allowed to testify on September 9 before the House Committee on Infrastructure.
Under oath, he alleged that Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva each received 30 percent kickbacks from Bulacan flood control projects—Estrada in 2025 and Villanueva in 2023.
Estrada and Villanueva have denied the allegations.
Following his testimony, Hernandez requested the House joint panel to transfer him from Senate custody to a new detention facility for security reasons, a move approved by Sotto.
After testifying at the House hearing, Hernandez was transferred to the PNP Custodial Center.
But the Senate minority bloc questioned Sotto’s decision, prompting him to order Hernandez’s transfer to the Senate detention facility.
