Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada are the latest names to surface in the widening controversy over alleged flood control anomalies — this time accused of pocketing hefty kickbacks.

At a House committee on infrastructure hearing on Tuesday, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer Bryce Hernandez claimed the two senators were tied to several flood control projects in Bulacan.

Hernandez linked Villanueva and Estrada to two projects in 2023 and 2025 that amounted to ₱600 million and ₱350 million, respectively.

According to Hernandez, the scheme involved lawmakers receiving at least 30 percent in kickbacks from the project costs—an arrangement he said that was an “open secret” in DPWH dealings.

“Senator Jinggoy had allocated P355 million this year for several projects in Bulacan. As per my boss, the commitment [SOP] was 30 percent,” Hernandez said in Filipino, referring to ex-DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara.

“In 2023, Senator Joel Villanueva released P600 million. The SOP was also 30 percent,” he said.

SOP (standard operating procedure) refers to the cut or commission given to the “proponent” of a project.

Villanueva had eight flood mitigation projects totalling P600 million in Balagtas and Bocaue, Bulacan, while Estrada has seven similar projects in Malolos, Hagonoy, and Calumpit.

The Commission on Audit has opened a fraud audit in Bulacan after President Ferdiannd Marcos Jr.’s inspections uncovered a trail of botched flood control projects.

Among them were a ₱96.4-million flood control project in Calumpit and a ₱55-million reinforced concrete wall in Baliuag—both of which turned out to be “ghost” or completely non-existent projects.

Bulacan has been tagged as the “most notorious” in the alleged corruption in flood control, having recorded the most projects at 668 from July 2022 to May 2025. The province received the lion’s share of P98 billion in flood control funds allocated for Central Luzon, with a whopping P44 billion.

In an August Senate hearing, former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan admitted that “ghost” flood control projects existed in the Bulacan towns of Calumpit, Malolos, and Hagonoy.

Senators deny involvement

The two senators, now part of the Senate minority bloc, were quick to deny the allegations.

In a privilege speech on Tuesday, Villanueva said he was caught off guard when his name was dragged into the House hearing on questionable flood control projects, alongside Estrada.

“I’ll say it again, Mr. [Senate] President, and I may sound like a broken record—I have never been involved in any flood control project,” Villanueva said. “I won’t just categorically deny this accusation because I have receipts that prove otherwise. There is information that can be verified to show why this is happening.”

Villanueva had earlier brushed off reports linking him to billions worth of alleged budget insertions for infrastructure projects in his home province of Bulacan, insisting that he never intervened in flood control projects there.

Estrada also repudiated the accusation against him in his privilege speech yesterday.

“First of all, I have never received a single centavo from any flood control project. Just like the so-called ghost projects, his (Hernandez’s) claim of a 30-percent kickback is pure imagination,” he said.

Estrada said the projects Hernandez mentioned were merely line items in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

“It is a blatant lie to drag my name into those projects as he did during the House hearing,” he said.

He dismissed the allegations as malicious and intended to mislead the public. “I am not just challenging Mr. Hernandez to take a lie detector test with me—I demand that he prove every single claim in court, backed by evidence, not hearsay or fabricated stories. Let the truth come out once and for all.”

Estrada vowed to fight back, saying Hernandez must be held accountable for perjury and falsehoods. “This will not pass quietly. Lies have consequences, and I will pursue every legal remedy to make sure justice is served.”

Alcantara ‘chief implementor’

According to Hernandez, once a budget for a flood control project is reflected in the General Appropriations Act and is released, Alcantara would personally deliver the SOP to the proponents.

This also applied to Villanueva and Estrada, with the former’s cut being delivered directly to his residence in Bocaue, he said.

Hernandez said Alcantara was the “chief implementor” who directly coordinated with politicians and personally delivered their kickbacks, for which Alcantara got a three-percent commission for every project.

Alcantara, however, refuted Hernandez’s allegation that he personally delivered SOPs to politicians. He also denied that Villanueva had flood control projects in Bulacan.

Photos implicate senators

Villanueva maintained that he never had a transaction with Alcantara despite photos and videos circulating online showing them together at various events.

During the House hearing, a Viber exchange between Villanueva and Alcantara was presented along with a group photo showing the senator posing with DPWH-Bulacan district engineers, including Alcantara and Hernandez.

Also presented were photos of Estrada with Alcantara at private events, as well as pictures of piles of cash set aside by DPWH-Bulacan district engineers for the “proponents” of the flood control projects in the province.

Hernandez’s request granted

Earlier in the hearing, before dropping his allegations against the two senators, Hernandez asked the committee to ensure that he would not be sent back to the Senate where he was detained for contempt, fearing for his safety.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said they had reached an agreement with House Speaker Martin Romualdez to detain Hernandez at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City, but under the supervision of the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms.

The move, Sotto explained, was made in the spirit of inter-parliamentary courtesy.

“To make sure he is safe but still in the custody of the Senate, the Speaker and I agreed to place him in the PNP Custodial Center but under the supervision of the Senate OSAA,” Sotto said.

The PNP Custodial Center is where high-profile detainees are held.