DISMISSED Bulacan 1st district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez was allowed to leave Senate detention to gather evidence supporting his allegations against personalities involved in anomalous flood control projects.
Hernandez is expected to return with documents and testimonies that could shed light on the corruption claims. His cooperation may prove crucial in holding those accountable.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, as reported by radio DZBB, said Hernandez was given temporary permission Saturday morning to return home. He was accompanied by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to retrieve documents, following his claims linking Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva to the controversy.
On Friday, Hernandez surrendered one of his luxury vehicles as a gesture of cooperation when he appeared before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), formed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate corruption and inefficiency in infrastructure projects.
Hernandez, a former DPWH personnel implicated in the scandal, was placed under Senate custody after being cited in contempt by the Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson.
Sotto signed an order allowing Hernandez to testify before ICI. Hernandez alleged that Villanueva and Estrada received at least 30 percent in kickbacks from nearly P1 billion worth of flood control projects in Bulacan. Both senators denied the charges.
Lacson said he will continue to “follow the evidence” and stressed the need for accountability.
“There is no other way to go but to ensure a logical conclusion… to bring to justice all those who must be made to pay for their sins against the Filipino people,” he said.
