Tulfo: Return stolen funds; Remulla, Marcoleta clash

Senator Erwin Tulfo on Tuesday demanded that the contractors and government officials behind the flood control scams return the funds they stole, as Senator Rodante Marcoleta locked horns with Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla over the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).

Speaking as the vice chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Tuesday, Tulfo said his demand that the stolen funds be returned echoed the frustration of the thousands who took to the streets on 21 September to denounce the corruption in public works projects.

“I don’t know if you were listening to our countrymen at the People Power Monument and Luneta,” Tulfo told his colleagues. “They weren’t just shouting against stealing, they were demanding their money back.”

Tulfo’s call came as the hearing turned tense, with Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla and Senator Rodante Marcoleta sparring over whether returning stolen funds should be a condition for entering the WPP.

Marcoleta insisted that restitution wasn’t required by the law. “Restitution is not one of the requisites. Is that correct?” he asked.

“It’s not in the law,” Remulla admitted, but quickly added that it should be seen as a moral issue.

“It’s not just the law that dictates this — it’s also what is morally right,” he said, pointing to the billions allegedly lost to the bogus flood control projects.

Marcoleta wasn’t satisfied. “Are you amending the provision of the law, Mr. Secretary?”

“No, sir,” Remulla replied. “But that is how we run the WPP.”

The senator shot back: “You may be disbarred for doing this. You do not change the provision of the law. I am not expressing an opinion here, I am articulating the law.”

According to Marcoleta, restitution only comes after a court conviction, not before. He argued it was premature to demand that WPP applicants give back what was taken when no court had yet ruled on their guilt or civil liability.

“How can you require restitution when there’s no finding yet of how much should be restituted?” he asked. “The applicant is only applying. Don’t change the requisites of the law.”

But Remulla held his ground, saying the DoJ had the discretion to look at the bigger picture in cases involving massive losses to taxpayers.

“This is a crime against the financial status of the Filipino people,” he said. “I think it’s only right that we ask for restitution.”

He added that while not mandated by law, restitution would show good faith and help restore public trust.

Marcoleta, however, warned Remulla not to bend the law. “It is not my opinion. It is in the law, Mr. Secretary,” he stressed.

The clash came as the DoJ continued to assess the application of contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, alleged big players in the flood control scams, to be taken into the WPP.

DoJ eyes freezing Alcantara accounts

Remulla said the DoJ was moving to freeze the bank accounts linked to fired DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, with restitution also on the table.

“We did good work. We prepared the documents and submitted them to the AMLC for the freezing of the bank accounts,” Remulla told reporters on his return to the Senate in the afternoon. He had left earlier for the DoJ offices with Alcantara to assess the latter’s eligibility for the WPP.

He said that Alcantara has signaled a willingness to return the ill-gotten funds, although the DoJ was still studying how much could be recovered. “We haven’t gotten to the bottom of everything yet, but the gesture for restitution is there.”

Investigators are also preparing follow-up questions for Alcantara, drawing from his earlier testimony and their independent research. Remulla said the engineer admitted that his troubles began in 2022, when he was DPWH district engineer in Bulacan.

Meanwhile, a lawyer has written the DoJ asking that former DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez be considered as a state witness. Remulla said the request must undergo a thorough vetting.

Key decisions may be announced later this week, likely by Friday, after his meeting with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. As for taking the Discayas into the Witness Protection Program, Remulla said that will “take more time.”