Cayetano questions transfer of Brice Hernandez: ‘Bakit siya ang nasusunod?’

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday, 15 September, once again questioned why Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Engineer Brice Hernandez was transferred from Senate custody to the Philippine National Police (PNP) without consulting other senators.

"Nung nasa House at sinabi niyang hindi siya komportable sa Senate, hindi siya binalik (When he was in the House of Representatives and said he was uncomfortable in the Senate, he was not brought back)," Cayetano said in an ambush interview.

"Ngayon ang statement naman niya, with the new leadership [of Senate President Tito Sotto], babalik na siya, so kung pwede siyang ilipat. Bakit siya ang nasusunod? (Now his statement is that, with the new leadership of Senate President Tito Sotto, he will be coming back, so he was transferred. Why do we follow his requests?)," he added.

Last week, Sotto granted the House of Representatives' request for Hernandez to attend its hearing on questionable flood control projects.

During the same hearing, Hernandez asked lawmakers not to bring him back to Senate detention, citing safety concerns after tagging Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva as among those involved in corruption related to flood control projects in the country.

Hernandez returned to the Senate Detention Facility on Monday morning after his hearing at the Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 112 regarding his Writ of Amparo.

According to Sotto, Hernandez's legal counsel wrote to him and to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, adding that the former DPWH engineer should be readmitted to the Senate Detention Facility.

Hernandez expressed confidence that both Senate President Sotto and Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo "Ping" Lacson "will stand not only as a body of discipline but also as exemplars of fairness."

His legal counsel also added that Hernandez's stay in the Senate "affirms that the institution does not shy away from difficult truths nor turn its back on those who risk their safety to reveal them."

Hernandez is set to appear before the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects on Thursday, 18 September.