The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee cited in contempt former DPWH-Bulacan engineer Henry Alcantara, assistant district engineer Jaypee Mendoza, and contractor Curlee Discaya after they were caught lying about ghost projects and substandard flood control works. They will be detained in the Senate after the decision.
Alcantara denied knowing about the ghost projects, while Discaya lied about the reason for her husband's absence. According to Sarah Discaya's letter, she was unable to attend because of the meeting, contrary to what her husband said, he was illness. As a result, she was issued a show cause order.
Brice Hernandez, who was previously jailed for contempt, revealed that the money he received in kickbacks from the contractor amounted to millions and even showed pictures of the piles of cash. According to him, he is ready to return the money because he did not work for it.
Meanwhile, Sally Santos of SYMS Construction sought protection after receiving threats on her life. According to Santos, she was forced to use the licenses of other contractors for a kickback scheme and was scared after admitting to the system. Because of this, she was granted physical protection by the Senate.
In additional action, 17 DPWH officials of Bulacan 1st District were suspended by the Ombudsman. Meanwhile, a high-ranking DPWH official tendered his resignation to make way for a new appointee.
