A witness in the malversation trial of former Department of Public Works and Highways engineer Brice Hernandez affirmed claims that P299 million was allegedly delivered in common grocery boxes in 2025.
Allen Torrecampo, an aide to SYMS Construction owner Sally Santos, testified before the Sandiganbayan Third Division that Santos personally bought the boxes from a local market in Meycauayan, Bulacan before funds allegedly intended for DPWH projects were delivered.
Torrecampo said she regularly accompanied Santos in withdrawing hard cash from a Landbank branch located about 10 minutes away from the DPWH district office.
She testified that they frequently coordinated with a certain Lilibeth Lim, whom she identified as a bank teller responsible for counting the cash bundles before handing them over.
Asked by Associate Justice Karl Miranda why checks were not issued instead, Torrecampo said she heard Hernandez preferred cash transactions.
After completing the withdrawal process, Torrecampo said they would immediately proceed to the DPWH office, where Santos’ niece, Monica Ocampo-Santos, would supposedly wait for them.
When asked whether Hernandez signed any document acknowledging receipt of the cash, the witness said no such slip or receipt existed.
Torrecampo’s testimony corroborated earlier statements made by Sally Santos and Monica Ocampo-Santos, who previously testified before the anti-graft court.
However, Torrecampo also admitted that she testified because Santos had instructed her to do so.
She said she had worked for Santos even before SYMS Construction was established, initially helping sell food products in 2020 before formally joining the company in 2022 as a personal assistant.
Also implicated in the ongoing case are former senator Bong Revilla and several DPWH officials allegedly linked to the controversial flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
