LIST: State witnesses in flood control corruption and what they know

Three former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and one contractor are now considered state witnesses in the flood control corruption investigation, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ confirmed that former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former district engineers Henry Alcantara and Gerard Opulencia, and SYMS Construction’s Sally Santos will serve as state witnesses.

Apart from security, the benefits of state witnesses include immunity from cases. However, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon clarified that the four are only protected in the cases included in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) they had signed with the DOJ.

“They are already considered as state witnesses discharged in the cases specified in their respective MOAs. Necessarily they are provided protection by reason thereof,” Fadullon told Rappler.

The DOJ also clarified that these state witnesses may still face other cases which are not included in their MOA.

“Meaning they are now discharged from the cases they applied as state witnesses for. But it’s not a blanket immunity…And those cases are all listed in the MOA they executed with the WPP (Witness Protection Program),” DOJ spokesperson Prosecutor Raphael Martinez explained.

Acting DOJ Secretary Fredderick Vida said former DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza failed to qualify as state witness based on the evidence provided to the DOJ.

Henry Alcantara

ALCANTARA. Former DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara (center) leaves the Department of Justice after submitting his counter-affidavit ahead of the preliminary investigation on January 15, 2026.

• Position: Former DPWH Bulacan 1st District engineer
• On insertions. Alcantara, in his sworn affidavit, confirmed how insertions were made in the national budgets for 2022 to 2025. He said kickbacks were through the DPWH offices in Bulacan (1st and 2nd Districts), Tarlac (1st and 2nd Districts) Pampanga 3rd District.
• Who are involved? The former DPWH official alleged that the kickbacks’ beneficiaries include former senator Bong Revilla, incumbent senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, former Caloocan 2nd District Congresswoman Mary Mitzi “Mitch” Lim Cajayon-Uy, Ako Bicol Representative and former House appropriations committee chair Zaldy Co, Commission on Audit Commissioner Mario Lipana (whose wife is a contractor), and Ferdstar Builders Constractors.
• Alcantara also corroborated the testimony of his former subordinate, Brice Hernandez, who said that Villanueva and Estrada allegedly received kickbacks.
• On Zaldy Co. In September 2025, Alcantara also confirmed before the Senate blue ribbon committee that he delivered kickbacks for Co at his residence in Pasig and a hotel parking area in Taguig.

Roberto Bernardo

HEARING. Former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Roberto Bernardo testifies before the Senate blue ribbon committee on November 14, 2025.

• Position: Former DPWH undersecretary
• Lawmakers involved. Bernardo, in September 2025, alleged that Senator Chiz Escudero received a P160-million kickback, while former senators Revilla and Nancy Binay received P125 million and P37 million, respectively. In another testimony in November of that year, Bernardo also named former senator Grace Poe, Senator Estrada, and Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara, a former senator, as lawmakers who allegedly received kickbacks from flood control projects.
• Kickback system. The former DPWH official also claimed that former DPWH chiefs Mark Villar and Manuel Bonoan allegedly ran the kickback system at the agency, with late former undersecretary Cathy Cabral as the main operator of the scheme.

Gerardo Opulencia

OPULENCIA. File photo of former DPWH Metro Manila chief Gerardo Opulencia (second from the right). Photo by Philippine News Agency

• Position: Former DPWH Metro Manila regional director
• On insertions. Bernardo said that Opulencia has knowledge about insertions because he once tasked the engineer to submit a list of infrastructure projects from Laguna and Metro Manila.
• He was also once questioned by the DPWH over his lavish lifestyle. In December 2025, Opulencia was included in the list of government officials recommended by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to face both criminal and administrative complaints.

Sally Santos

CONTRACTOR. SYMS Construction Trading owner Sally Santos speaks at the blue ribbon committee motu proprio inquiry on the alleged corruption within government flood control projects, on September 18, 2025.

• Position: Contractor, SYMS Construction Trading owner
• The lending of license scheme. Santos said the DPWH projects that went to her firm were actually in-house projects of engineers. She said she only lent her license for these projects. The contractor said from 2022 to 2025, she had remitted as much as P1 billion to Hernandez in cash put in boxes. These payments were supposed to go to contractors like SYMS, but instead went to DPWH engineers. According to Santos, she charged a 3% cut for lending her license and then gave the rest of the money to Hernandez.
• Ghost project contractors. In cases where SYMS could not bid for bigger projects because it’s only a small firm, Santos said she looked for another license and found Wawao Builders. Both SYMS and Wawao are involved in DPWH ghost projects.

– Rappler.com