SYMS Construction Trading owner Sally Santos is now provisionally admitted as state witness into the Witness Protection Program (WPP), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday.
In a message, justice spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez told Manila Standard that Santos now joins former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara, and former DPWH-NCR Regional Director Gerard Opulencia in the list.
He confirmed this development following the return of an amount totaling P20-million to the government as part of the restitution process.
Santos returned a total of P20-million this month pursuant to the terms of her Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
Yesterday, P15-million was delivered to the justice department while P5-million was previously returned earlier this month.
“The final amount she will return is equivalent to the royalty fees she received as part of the Hiram Lisensya scheme,” said Martinez.
Last week, Opulencia also returned a P40-million kickback from his transactions while he was still an official.
Meanwhile, Alcantara returned P71.3 million to the government accounting for the second tranche of funds he committed for restitution.
In November, he also returned P110-million to the government, the amount he unlawfully obtained from flood control projects.
Under the law, the WPP seeks to encourage a person who has knowledge of the commission of a crime to testify before a court or an investigating authority.
An applicant under this program is required to enter into a MOA with the government in which case contractors take part of the DOJ’s restitution efforts.
