Sandigan justices quiz DPWH contractor: Who is SBR?
Who is SBR?
The identity of an individual who proposed a P100-million flood control project in Pandi town, Bulacan province, a couple of years ago and who used only the initials SBR, on Wednesday raised questions from justices of the Sandiganbayan.
At the resumption of the anti-graft court Third Division’s bail hearing on the malversation case against former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and six others, private contractor Sally Santos presented a list of 42 mostly flood control projects that were awarded to her company, SYMS Construction Trading, between 2024 and 2025.
One item – a flood control project in Pandi town worth P100 million project with a proponent identified only as SBR – did not escape the attention of Third Division member, Associate Justice Ronald Moreno, who quizzed the witness about it.
“What do you mean by SBR?” Moreno asked. Santos claimed that she did not know what the initials stood for, saying this piece of information came from the Department of Public Works and Highways in Bulacan.
Toward the end of the hearing, Third Division chair, Associate Justice Karl Miranda, asked Santos if she has personal dealings with Revilla. In response, she said: “Wala po (none).”
Commenting later on Santos’ testimony, Revilla’s counsel Reody Anthony Balisi said: “We’ll take it as it is.”
“The witness categorically and clearly stated when asked by the court if she had dealings with former Sen. Bong Revilla and she categorically, clearly, and expressly stated that there is none,” Balisi said in an ambush interview.
Santos, however, testified that she had dealings with Brice Hernandez, then assistant engineer of the DPWH First District Engineering Office (DEO) in Bulacan.
On top of the malversation charges, Revilla and the six others, including former DPWH officials and personnel, are facing separate graft charges before the Fourth Division over the same alleged “ghost” project worth P92.8 million in Pandi.
Government prosecutors alleged that Revilla and the six others, including former public works officials in Bulacan, conspired to facilitate the release of P76 million for the construction of the flood control project in Purok 5, Barangay Bunsuran, Pandi, that was never implemented.
