Alcantara not recanting flood mess testimony, says lawyer
Dismissed Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara has not recanted his earlier testimonies on his involvement in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal and will continue to cooperate with authorities as part of a deal to enter the government’s witness protection program (WPP), his lawyer confirmed on Tuesday.
In a statement sent to the Inquirer, lawyer Emil Joven of ELJ Law Office said any allegations that his client had withdrawn his statements during Senate hearings or in other proceedings about supposed payoffs from flood control projects in his district were “categorically false and misleading.”
“In short, Engr. Alcantara is not recanting his prior statements,” he said. “In deference to the investigative process, the evaluation of the statements of Engr. Alcantara as well as that of the other parties and respondents in the various cases is properly left to the honorable panel of prosecutors.”
Joven stressed that Alcantara would continue to assist authorities as part of the prerequisites for admission to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) witness protection program.
Stick to verified sources
He also urged the public to rely only on verified sources, adding that any information about Alcantara’s status as a witness “from sources other than the [DOJ] or from the undersigned should be treated with caution for potential inaccuracy.”
It was the first time that Alcantara’s camp had spoken on the issue following reports on Saturday that he had supposedly withdrawn his damning testimony in a counteraffidavit.
The source of the reports was a lawyer for Sen. Joel Villanueva, whom the former DPWH engineer had identified as among the senators who had allegedly received kickbacks from public works projects in Bulacan’s first engineering district. Villanueva’s family hails from Bulacan.
On Sept. 23 last year, Alcantara told a Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the flood control scandal that he handed P150 million in kickbacks to an aide of Villanueva, telling him to inform the senator that this was his “help for whatever future plans that he has.”
He added, however, that Villanueva was unaware that the money came from a flood control project.
Alcantara said he also delivered kickbacks to resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co at the former lawmaker’s house in Pasig City and at the parking lot of a hotel in Taguig City. He clarified that he did not hand over the money directly to Co but to the latter’s aides.
In a statement on Saturday, Undersecretary Polo Martinez, the DOJ spokesperson, said there had been “no official recantation by Alcantara, whether written or verbal,” of his official testimony before ongoing investigations of the anomalous, substandard, and ghost flood control projects in Bulacan.
DOJ appearance
Alcantara appeared before the DOJ on Tuesday but Martinez declined to provide details on the dismissed engineer’s presence in their office.
“He was here for a matter with the WPP. That’s all I can say given the confidentiality of the proceedings,” Martinez told reporters.
Alcantara, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, did not answer queries from reporters when he came out of the DOJ building and went straight to board his vehicle.
P181 million returned
He, along with fellow former DPWH Bulacan engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza, was provisionally admitted to the WPP in September last year. This gave them security protection, but not immunity from suit, as they have yet to be evaluated to become state witnesses.
Under Republic Act No. 6981, or the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, an individual who was involved in a crime and wishes to become a state witness may be admitted into the program, provided they meet certain conditions, such as not appearing the most guilty in the case.
Former Justice Secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said that restitution, or returning the ill-gotten wealth that Alcantara’s group had amassed, would also play a huge factor in determining their eligibility into the WPP.
Alcantara has so far returned to the government about P181 million in cash as restitution for his supposed share in the kickback scheme.
Earlier this week, the Professional Regulatory Board of Civil Engineering revoked Alcantara’s license due to gross unprofessional and unethical conduct after he was found administratively liable for grave offenses concerning the disbursement of public funds for nonexistent or “ghost” infrastructure projects.
