Ex-DPWH man who surrendered pricey cars pleads not guilty to graft
Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez and two others linked to an alleged anomalous P92.8-million flood control project in Bulacan pleaded not guilty to graft charges at the Sandiganbayan.
Hernandez and Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office (DEO) officials Jaypee Mendoza and Christina Mae del Rosario Pineda entered the pleas during their arraignment on Wednesday after the charges were read to them before the antigraft court’s Fourth Division.
In September 2025, at the early part of the investigations on the flood control corruption scandal, Hernandez surrendered luxury cars to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) “as a sign of good faith and his willingness to further cooperate with the Commission.”
He first turned over a GMC Yukon Denali sport utility vehicle that according to reports cost around P12 million.
Nearly a week later, he turned over a Lamborghini Urus, a luxury sport utility vehicle estimated to be worth about P30-P40 million.
In addition to the three, former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and former DPWH officials Arjay Domasig, Juanito Mendoza and Emelita Capistrano Juat are also facing charges of graft and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents for the same project at the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth and Third Divisions.
The case was filed by the Ombudsman last Jan. 16 at the Sandiganbayan for their alleged conspiracy to pay for a nonexistent flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
According to the Ombudsman, Revilla and his coaccused conspired to release at least P76 million as payment for the project in Purok V, Barangay Bunsuran in Pandi, Bulacan, which was awarded to a private contractor in March 2025.
An official inspection and accounts by witnesses showed that the project was never implemented but was reported to have been “completed” to allow the release of the money.
Probable cause
Revilla, Domasig and Juanito Mendoza’s arraignment is set for Feb. 9, while the preliminary conference of Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza and Pineda is scheduled on Feb. 13.
Meanwhile, the pretrial of Hernandez, Juat, Pineda and Jaypee Mendoza is set for Feb. 19.
Domasig was present during Wednesday’s arraignment but asked the court for a deferment due to the absence of his legal counsel and he is still in the process of hiring a new lawyer.
Revilla was initially set for arraignment last week, but his camp filed a motion to quash the malversation charge at the Sandiganbayan, arguing that the information is defective because he allegedly had no public custody or control of the funds supposedly misappropriated.
On Jan. 19, the former senator’s camp filed an urgent omnibus motion seeking leave of court for reinvestigation, the deferment of the issuance of a warrant of arrest, and the quashing of the information.
A day later, Revilla also filed a very urgent motion requesting that he be detained at the Philippine National Police custodial facility in Camp Crame, citing security risks.
Addressing the motion involving the warrant of arrest, Sandiganbayan Third Division chair, Associate Justice Karl Miranda, said the court had personally determined the existence of probable cause, which led to the issuance of arrest warrants against Revilla and his coaccused.
Meanwhile, the former senator’s request to be transferred to Camp Crame remains pending.
While the Third Division has yet to rule on the motion, it conducted an inspection on Jan. 23 of the detention facilities housing the six individuals implicated in the case.
Detention
Pending the court’s decision, Revilla will remain detained at the male dormitory of the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas along with four of his male coaccused.
His two female coaccused, meanwhile, were ordered detained at Camp Karingal, which has a detention facility for women.
Revilla posted bail of P90,000 at the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division for his graft case but remains in jail because the malversation case is nonbailable.
His role in the alleged conspiracy was not specified given that the former senator is from Cavite province, while the contractor and representatives from the construction company were not named as co-respondents in the case.
He was implicated in the flood control controversy after former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo claimed he had allegedly delivered P125 million to the former lawmaker’s residence in December 2024, and another P250 million was brought by his aide before the 2025 elections. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
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