Web of corruption unraveled

Ex-Bulacan engineer links 3 senators, 1 party-list congressman, DPWH Usec to kickback scheme

- DHEL NAZARIO

In what could be one of the biggest corruption scandals in the country, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan First District Engineering Office head Henry Alcantara has come forward, tagging lawmakers and senior DPWH officials who benefited from a multibillion-peso kickback scheme that diverted as much as 25 to 30 percent of public infrastructure funds into kickbacks between 2022 and 2025.

In a signed affidavit he read on Tuesday, Sept. 23, during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing investigating the anomalous flood control projects, Alcantara, provided a full account of how the scheme worked, naming former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Senator Joel Villanueva, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, and even contractors like Ferdstar Builders as key figures.

""I am executing this sworn affidavit to demonstrate my voluntary cooperation with the ongoing investigations of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and other government agencies... and to ultimately hold accountable all those involved in these anomalous projects," Alcantara declared in his affidavit.

Bernardo's 25-30% collection per project

Alcantara said he first met Bernardo in 1997 at the DPWH Laguna 2nd District Engineering Office, where Bernardo rose from Chief of Planning to Undersecretary. He credited Bernardo with securing his promotion to district engineer in Bulacan in 2019.

By 2022, Alcantara alleged, Bernardo had begun releasing projects with the condition that 25 percent of the total project cost would go to the "proponent." In 2022, Alcantara said that P350 million in projects flowed into his DEO (District Engineering Office) with P70 million he collected and delivered to Bernardo.