MANILA, Philippines – Dismissed Bulacan 1st District engineer Henry Alcantara, implicated in the public works corruption scandal, turned over P110 million to the government on Friday, November 28.

According to Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick Vida, the amount is part of Alcantara’s P300-million commitment to return public funds.

Alcantara will be surrendering the money in tranches, Vida said, because the dismissed engineer is currently detained in the Senate after being cited in contempt.

Meanwhile, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has pledged to return P7 million.

According to Vida, the amounts being surrendered were earned from kickbacks tied to the broader corruption of the national government budget involving members of Congress, contractors, and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel.

During a Senate probe, investigators revealed that Alcantara and other dismissed DPWH engineers in Bulacan burned millions of pesos in casinos using aliases. Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said that this scheme could have been used for money laundering.

Alcantara also admitted to colluding with Bernardo. Alcantara also revealed the budget insertions and alleged kickbacks for former senator Bong Revilla and senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, which the lawmakers denied.

Alcantara’s colleague, dismissed Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez, previously turned over two of his luxury vehicles to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure as part of the ongoing probe into the flood control scandal. – Rappler.com