Former Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara returned P110 million out of the estimated P300 million he took in kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects, Department of Justice Acting Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Friday.

Bureau of Treasury (BTr) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) representatives were present at the press briefing to validate and process the returned amount. Following this, Alcantara was provisionally admitted to the Witness Protection Program (WPP)

Vida said the return of the money was a step toward justice and a demonstration of good faith..

“The return of the stolen money is part of the aim to get justice. This is the money of the people, this is the recovery of the people’s money,” he said.

“The money will be given back to the Bureau of the Treasury, which will issue a receipt and check the money to determine it is not counterfeit. The LandBank has the process to do it,” Vida said.

Vida clarified that while Alcantara’s restitution showed his cooperation, his admission to the WPP was strictly provisional and does not confer blanket immunity from all his liabilities.

According to authorities, the P110 million was an initial tranche of the estimated P300 million Alcantara obtained unlawfully, per his own admission.

Vida clarified the discharge from criminal liability applies only to the specific amounts and cases mentioned in Alcantara’s testimony and covered by the restitution.

“The provisional admission [under the Witness Protection Program] is on the issue alone, not overall,” Vida pointed out.

He said that if the government discovers Alcantara is withholding information or had withheld more money, he will not be absolved of liability on those undeclared matters.

Vida outlined the process to ensure the funds are appropriately accounted for and returned to the nation’s coffers.

Sunwest execs hunted

Meanwhile, the authorities attempted to serve arrest warrants on three board members of Sunwest Construction and Development Corp. linked to alleged irregularities in government flood-control projects.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group–National Capital Region (CIDG–NCR) deployed more than 100 personnel in a sweeping search at a 10-story hotel in Pasay City on Friday.

In an interview, CIDG–NCR chief Col. John Guiagui said the operation was launched after investigators received information that the wanted executives — Consuela Aldon, Anthony Ngo and Noel Yap Cao — were at the hotel where they were posing as employees.

Sunwest is reportedly a subsidiary owner of the hotel.

“We hoped to serve the WoA [warrant of arrest] on three board of directors of Sunwest, but unfortunately, they were not here. Based on information we received yesterday, they were hiding here and posing as employees,” Guiagui told reporters.

The CIDG, supported by the National Bureau of Investigation, checked all 10 hotel floors, searching room by room, including the kitchen and housekeeping areas.

No police overkill

Guiagui defended the size of the deployment, calling it necessary for an orderly and thorough operation.

“Overkill? No, it was not an overkill. There are 10 floors here. So we have to do it in an orderly manner so we can do it faster and we can cover all 10 floors,” he said.

The warrants stemmed from cases related to anomalous flood control projects involving 16 individuals. Nine have been accounted for, but none from Sunwest have been arrested.