DPWH drivers testify on suitcase deliveries tied to flood control kickbacks

DPWH drivers Andrei Balatbat and Christian Santiago admitted under oath to transporting suitcases under the direction of their bosses. The suitcases they delivered were allegedly filled with millions of pesos in cash, with repeat deliveries suggesting a connection to financial kickbacks in anomalous flood control projects across the country.

Balatbat confirmed that in one instance, he delivered six to eight suitcases to a house in Valle Verde, though he could not verify if the house belonged to Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co. Santiago, meanwhile, testified that he made seven deliveries to a Phoenix Petroleum gas station along Dahlia Street in Fairview, Quezon City. These deliveries involved transferring the suitcases from one vehicle to another. Both drivers denied knowing the contents of the suitcases.

Ex-Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara later claimed during questioning that the suitcases contained anywhere from P30 million to P50 million. “Normally po ang isang maleta nagre-range po mula P30 milyon hanggang P40 milyon… mayroong isa na umabot ng P50 milyon pero bihira,” Alcantara told the committee under oath.

The statements of the two drivers corroborated the testimony of Zaldy Co’s former security consultant Orly Regala Guteza, who alleged in the same hearing that 46 suitcases were delivered to Co’s Valle Verde home by Congressman Eric Yap.