More ‘Floodgate’ heads must roll — Sotto

Accountability for the flood control mess should not stop with the arrest of embattled contractor Sarah Discaya, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said.

Discaya was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday night, 18 December, over an alleged P96-million ghost project in Davao Occidental. She is set to be detained at the agency’s custodial facility inside the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa.

However, Sotto said responsibility should extend beyond Discaya.

“Everyone who has wasted the people’s money should be held accountable, especially the big fish,” Sotto told reporters.

“Based on the investigations, there are legislators involved, contractors involved, and members of the executive department involved,” he added.

Among those implicated in the alleged flood control anomalies are Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva and Chiz Escudero, former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara alleged that P355 million in insertions in 2024 were linked to Estrada, involving seven flood control projects in Hagonoy and Malolos, with an alleged 25 percent kickback.

Alcantara also claimed that in 2022, Villanueva requested the inclusion of multipurpose buildings amounting to P1.5 billion.

In the same affidavit, Alcantara admitted that he delivered alleged kickbacks for Co to the latter’s residence in Pasig and to a parking area in Taguig. He further alleged that Co’s demanded share increased from 20 percent in 2022 to 25 percent from 2023 to 2025.

Meanwhile, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo implicated Escudero as among those who allegedly received kickbacks from flood control projects.

During a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on 25 September, Bernardo said he delivered 20 percent of about P800 million, or roughly P160 million, to Meynard Ngu, which he said was intended for Escudero.

On 18 December, the DPWH recommended the filing of cases against 87 individuals allegedly involved in the flood control scandal, including Romualdez and Co.

Co’s former aide, Orly Guteza, earlier told a Senate investigation in September that he delivered suitcases containing cash amounting to about P48 million each to the residences of Romualdez and Co.