Ex-DPWH official says Escudero asked for streetlight budget allocation

Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official Roberto Bernardo claimed Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero once asked for a budget allocation for a streetlight project in Sorsogon.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon hearing on Thursday, 25 September, Bernardo said that in August 2022, he was summoned by Escudero while attending the confirmation hearing of then-DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.

"When I got there, he told me: 'Hindi na ako baba doon sa [Commission on Appointments] (CA), marami pa akong kulang streetlights sa Sorsogon ano ba magagawa niyo para sa akin? (I will not go there in the CA, I still lack a lot of streetlights in Sorsogon, what can you do for me?)'" Bernardo said.

He added that he relayed Escudero’s request to Secretary Bonoan.

"Subsequently, I received from the brother-in-law of Senator Chiz Escudero a list of projects which included the aforesaid streetlights projects. He asked me to confirm if that streetlights project was the one for Senator Chiz, which I did," Bernardo said.

In 2023, Bernardo said campaign contributor and Escudero ally Maynard Ngu asked him to meet the senator at Cork.

"I met with the latter in a private room in the said establishment. While we were drinking wine, he told me: 'Alam ko naman ang galawan niyo diyan sa DPWH, okay naman ako, sabihin mo kay Sec magbaba sa akin' (I know what you do there in the DPWH, I agree, tell Secretary give me a cut)," Bernardo testified.

Bernardo said that during this meeting, Escudero shook his hand and said, "Thank you."

After the projects were included in the General Appropriations Act, Bernardo alleged he delivered 20 percent of approximately P800 million, or about P160 million, to Escudero.

Senator Escudero, however, denied receiving any kickbacks from government flood control projects.