Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Thursday denied the claims of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo that a 15 percent “commitment” from more P2.8 billion worth of infrastructure projects were given to the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES).
“I deny the imputation contained in the sworn statement of DPWH Undersecretary Bernardo submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee about the delivery of ‘agreed 15% commitment’ ‘supposedly for the Office of the Executive Secretary.’ The imputation is not true,” Bersamin said in a statement.
“In the first place, the OES has no involvement in any way with budgetary allocations relevant to the DPWH,” he said.
“The OES has no dealings whatsoever with either Undersecretary Bernardo or DepEd Undersecretary Trygve
Olaivar,” he added.
Bernardo has alleged that the commissions intended for the OES were supposedly coursed through Olaivar, who was a former staff of former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who is now the education secretary.
He said in his affidavit that “sometime 2024, Usec. Olaivar personally called me for a meeting to discuss about Unprogrammed Appropriations supposedly for the Office of the Executive Secretary. In the said meeting, he requested (for us) to submit a list of projects.”
He said a list of projects worth P2.85 billion was subsequently given to Olaivar, after which “the DPWH received a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) for Ph2.85 billion for the projects.”
“Engr. (Henry) Alcantara from time to time would collect and deliver the agreed 15% commitment to me which I delivered or caused to be delivered to Usec. Olaivar in Magallanes, Makati and other places,” Bernardo said.
“I stand by my untarnished record as a long-serving public servant, first as a career judicial officer, and now as the Executive Secretary,” Bersamin stressed.
