More kickbacks returned: P40M from DPWH-NCR director

‘CASH FLOW’ FROM DPWH The Department of Justice on Tuesday receives P40 million in cash sent by Metro Manila public works director Gerard Opulencia, part of the P150 million in kickbacks that he vowed to return. Present at the turnover are Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and acting Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida (5th and 6th from left), among other officials. —TETCH TORRES-TUPAS

The regional director for Metro Manila of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) became the latest official of the agency to return hefty sums admitted to be kickbacks from anomalous infrastructure projects.

Engineer Gerard Opulencia of the DPWH National Capital Region (NCR) office formally turned over P40 million in cash to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday.

The amount partly fulfilled his commitment to give back a total of P150 million skimmed off funds meant for DPWH projects during his watch as NCR director.

Opulencia remains with the DPWH but is currently on floating status, according to Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida.

“This is part of his commitment to return P150 million,’’ Vida said, referring to the initial stacks of cash brought to the DOJ.

Bulacan projects

Opulencia was earlier included as one of the respondents in a complaint involving a project that is undergoing preliminary investigation at the DOJ. But he also signed an agreement to return a total of P150 million in exchange for the full benefits of being a state witness.

The DOJ did not provide details about the complaint pending against Opulencia.

But Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon on Tuesday said among the cases under preliminary investigation were on flood control projects awarded to the company SYMS Construction in Balagtas and Pandi towns in Bulacan.

Among the respondents in one of these cases are former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and former Rep. Zaldy Co.

Fadullon said Opulencia did not receive money from the Bulacan projects but had knowledge of what transpired.

The money Opulencia returned on Tuesday was part of what he received as DPWH-NCR director, he said.

“Actually, his testimony pertains to the cases that occurred in Bulacan. However, the restitution of funds was based on the transactions he was involved in when he was NCR director,” the DOJ official said.

“Regarding the flood control projects in Bulacan currently under investigation, he did not receive anything or get any share,” he added.

Fadullon said Opulencia’s testimony on the flood control projects in Bulacan was “considered important, that’s why he was considered for and accepted into [the witness protection] program.”

The funds returned on Tuesday will be turned over to the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Bureau of the Treasury.

Before Opulencia, another DPWH engineer, Henry Alcantara, of the Bulacan district office, surrendered P110 million to the government on Nov. 28—out of the total of P300 million he promised to return.

In a similar move, former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo gave the government access to his bank account containing P7 million.

However, it was one of the bank accounts currently frozen at the request of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

On Sept. 19, former Bulacan district engineer Brice Hernandez, another DPWH official implicated in the corruption scandal, surrendered two luxury vehicles—a Lamborghini Urus and a GMC Yukon Denali—to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.