Says committed to witness protection obligations
Former Department of Public Works and Highways district engineer Henry Alcantara has put an end to claims he has recanted his testimonies on flood control project kickbacks of politicians, saying these are “false and misleading.”
“In short, Engr. Alcantara is not recanting his prior statements,” said Alcantara’s lawyer, Emil Karlo Joven, in a statement.
“The public must remain vigilant and should obtain information only from verified, identifiable, and reliable sources. Any information coming from sources other than the Department of Justice or from the undersigned should be treated with caution for potential inaccuracy,” he added.
Last week, Ramon Esguerra, lawyer of Senator Joel Villanueva, claimed former Alcantara retracted his earlier statements on his involvement in the flood control project anomalies.
Villanueva was among the sitting senators, along with Jinggoy Estrada, named by Alcantara in September during a Senate hearing as being involved in budget insertions and alleged kickbacks from flood control projects.
The senator has yet to issue a statement as of press time on Alcantara’s denial of Esguerra’s claim.
Joven noted that Alcantara has already entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Justice as a prerequisite for his regular admission to the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program.
“(He) is steadfastly committed to cooperating with the Department of Justice,” Joven said.
He said Alcantara would fulfill his obligations under the agreement “to assist authorities in the pursuit of truth and accountability.”
Alcantara went to the Department of Justice on Tuesday, January 13, for the continuation of the preliminary investigation on the flood control projects in Bulacan.
Esguerra claimed in an earlier television interview that Alcantara submitted a counter-affidavit on January 5.
“Number 1, just to be quick about this, he says that Engineers (Brice) Hernandez and (Jaypee) Mendoza are the ones responsible for the execution of flood control projects. And two, he was not the one directly overseeing the day-to-day operations of the projects, again pointing to the two Engineers Hernandez and Mendoza,” Esguerra said.
“Moreover, and this is very telling as far as we are concerned, according to him, there has been no witness that he facilitated any payout… he is in effect negating, virtually negating, what he said that he did the payout,” Villanueva’s lawyer added.
Alcantara previously told the Senate that flood control project proponents get as much as 25 to 30 percent of the proposed insertions.
The former DPWH engineer has since turned over a total of P110 million in cash that he admitted to illegally obtaining from flood control projects.
Malacañang on Monday cautioned potential witnesses in flood control mess cases against being misled by alleged promises of protection from politicians.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro issued the statement following a social media post by columnist Ramon Tulfo, which suggested that witnesses have been offered protection in exchange for retracting their previous testimonies.
“If there is any truth to this, witnesses who truly know the facts should not allow themselves to be deceived,” Castro said.
“What the public needs now the truth right now,” she said. “These witnesses could be the key to strengthening the fight against corruption.”
The Office of the Ombudsman, for its part, brushed off reports that Alcantara, as well as other former DPWH engineers Hernandez and Mendoza, were supposedly looking into recanting their statements.
