SYMS Construction Trading owner Sally Santos on Thursday was placed under Senate protective custody as the Blue Ribbon Committee resumed its probe into alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
The hearing centered on irregularities in the Bulacan first engineering district, which lawmakers said had long been plagued by questionable bidding practices.
Senator JV Ejercito pressed Santos to clarify her earlier claim that contractors in the district commonly borrowed licenses to participate in government projects.
The lawmaker asked Santos to identify other contractors she lent her license to aside from Wawao Builders, which she previously named during the inquiry.
Santos hesitated before responding and requested protective custody from the Senate, citing fears for her safety.
Committee chairman Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson agreed to grant her request on the condition that she provide honest testimony both orally and in writing.
Lacson warned that any false statement would result in the immediate withdrawal of Senate protection, which Santos accepted.
In her testimony, Santos identified Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading as another firm that borrowed her company’s license.
She was then asked by Ejercito whether she was aware that her license was being used for so-called ghost projects in Bulacan.
Santos claimed she had no knowledge that Department of Public Works and Highways personnel would misuse her company’s documents for projects that were never implemented.
She alleged that engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza, both linked to the DPWH, were responsible for handling the projects’ finances.
“My license was only forcibly borrowed from me. For example, in the Piel [Bulacan project], they just told me it would be put up for bidding, so I simply submitted my technical documents,” said Santos.
Lawmakers suggested that such practices highlighted systemic flaws in the district’s bidding and contracting system.
The committee noted that Santos’ testimony reinforced claims of collusion between government engineers and private contractors.
The Blue Ribbon Committee is expected to summon more contractors and DPWH officials as the investigation continues to uncover the extent of fraudulent bidding, ghost projects, and the misuse of public funds.
