Red herring conspiracy

The pieces of the puzzle of the “Floodgate” scandal are falling nicely into place following recent developments, including the alleged scripted testimonies of witnesses and the existence of another script, or more exactly, a transcript of conversations between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and then Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin.

Claims by lawmakers like ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice and Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste indicated the existence of records of text messages from December 2024 to July 2025, revealing that Bersamin acted as a “bagman” relaying the delivery of funds to Marcos.

In a 24 March 2025 message, Bersamin supposedly informed Marcos of a P7.122-billion delivery from then-DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, with Marcos acknowledging “OK” and Bersamin detailing uses for the money, such as television ads, survey firms and campaign expenses tied to the 2025 midterm elections.

On another occasion, on 10 July 2025, in an exchange about a P2-billion delivery to a Narra Avenue residence in Forbes Park, Marcos replied, “I’ll inform Jun Baris,” who turned out to be the President’s former head of security.

The conversation was recorded days before Marcos publicly condemned corruption in his State of the Nation Address on 28 July 2025 and vowed prosecutions. The timeline, if proven through the transcripts, would indicate that Marcos had full knowledge of the grand theft operations.

Bersamin himself turned over the messages after his resignation in November 2025.

The transcript, in the possession of undisclosed individuals or groups, would prove Marcos’ personal involvement in the network of corruption. The recent retraction by former DPWH engineers of their affidavits, and even the mysterious death of former DPWH Undersecretary Cathy Cabral, were likely part of an elaborate cover-up.

DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza gave initial testimonies exposing mid-level manipulations apparently to point the trail away from the real architects of the biggest corruption scandal ever.

Hernandez and Mendoza then sought to retract or exclude key portions of their statements from use as evidence in the “Floodgate” scandal after government officials signaled that they would not be admitted into the Witness Protection Program (WPP).

The statements implicated high-level figures, including former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former district engineer Henry Alcantara, Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada and former Representative Zaldy Co in schemes that funneled funds from Bulacan’s disproportionate share of the P548-billion Central Luzon flood control budget since 2022.

Hernandez and Mendoza also provided supporting evidence, such as photos and screenshots and even returned their ill-gotten assets, such as luxury vehicles and cash, as gestures of their cooperation.

The DoJ, however, classified them as the “most guilty” participants due to their direct oversight roles, making them ineligible for immunity as minor players.

In their counter-affidavits, they cited pressure during the signing of their statements and violations of their right against self-incrimination, arguing that the statements were conditionally provided for their protection that never materialized.

This has fueled allegations that the original affidavits were “scripted” or fed to them in an orchestrated manner, possibly by investigators or higher authorities, to create a narrative that focused blame on mid-level officials and lawmakers while diverting scrutiny away from the “real masterminds” at the top of the chain.

This was amplified by the suspicious death on 18 December 2025 of former Undersecretary Cabral, who had testified on similar insertions and mismanagement —raising fears of witness silencing.

Cabral’s testimony and subsequent “accident” where she fell into a ravine raised suspicions of silencing potential witnesses who could connect DPWH irregularities to higher-ups, especially as the scandal involved budget insertions and mismanagement, which had intensified since 2022.

A network spanning the executive branch, Congress and the DPWH continues to empty the national treasury with impunity.