Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Thursday strongly denied accusations that his office requested a 15% kickback linked to infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), calling the claim “not true” and “baseless” amid a widening Senate corruption inquiry.
The allegation stemmed from the sworn testimony of former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, where he claimed that a portion of unprogrammed DPWH funds, amounting to some P2.85 billion, was earmarked for the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES).
According to Bernardo, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Trygve Olaivar had demanded a “kinse” or 15 percent cut from the projects supposedly “for the OES.”
“I deny the imputation contained in the sworn statement … about the delivery of ‘agreed 15% commitment’ supposedly for the Office of the Executive Secretary. The imputation is not true,” Bersamin said in a statement.
The Palace official clarified that the OES “has no involvement in any way with budgetary allocations relevant to the DPWH” and “no dealings whatsoever” with either Bernardo or Olaivar, the latter having also publicly denied the allegations.
“I stand by my untarnished record as a long-serving public servant, first as a career judicial officer and now as the Executive Secretary,” Bersamin said.
Bernardo’s testimony detailed how he was allegedly summoned in 2024 to discuss unprogrammed DPWH funds, after which he instructed the Bulacan First District Engineering Office to prepare a list of projects worth P2.85 billion.
He claimed Olaivar explicitly said, “Boss, kinse ‘yan (that’s 15%),” referring to the required commission, and that the supposed cut was later collected and delivered in several locations, including Magallanes, Makati.
The revelations have intensified the ongoing Senate probe into alleged irregularities in flood control and infrastructure projects, where some contractors and former DPWH officials testified that kickbacks ranging from 20 to 25 percent were routinely demanded by lawmakers and public officials.
