Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Tuesday said he will file charges against a former public works official who accused him of pocketing kickbacks from flood control projects in Bulacan.
“I will ensure that Mr. (Brice) Hernandez is held accountable for perjury and made to answer for his deliberate falsehoods before a judicial forum,” he said in his speech during a plenary session.
Estrada challenged Hernandez to undergo a lie detector test and said he is ready to take one himself to prove his innocence.
The controversy stemmed from Hernandez’s testimony before the House infrastructure committee investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Hernandez alleged that Estrada and Senator Joel Villanueva collected a 30 percent share, known as “SOP,” from multimillion-peso projects in Bulacan.
He also linked former DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara and Undersecretary Robert Bernardo to the supposed kickback scheme.
Hernandez said Estrada supposedly received a 30 percent cut from P355 million worth of projects, while Villanueva allegedly got the same percentage from P600 million in 2023.
Estrada denied knowing Hernandez and rejected the accusations as fabrications designed to smear his reputation.
He said he will not allow himself to be dragged into “baseless and malicious” claims.
Villanueva also denied the allegations and said he is ready to present receipts and other documents to disprove the accusations.
During the same House hearing, Hernandez asked not to be sent back to the Senate, claiming his safety was at risk because senators were allegedly involved.
On Monday, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee cited Hernandez in contempt after he repeatedly denied allegations of gambling activities during questioning.
Contractor Pacifico Discaya, also at the Senate hearing, testified that no senators were involved in irregularities linked to flood control funds.
The exchange prompted Blue Ribbon chair Rodante Marcoleta to assure Estrada he was “safe,” a remark that Estrada objected to as inappropriate.
