Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada denied anew on Thursday allegations implicating him in a multi-billion-peso corruption scandal involving flood control projects and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on “massive looting” of public funds meant for critical infrastructure projects, Estrada lashed out at former Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, allegedly known by the alias “Marvin Santos de Guzman” in casinos, who earlier claimed that several lawmakers, DPWH officials, and contractors conspired to profit from anomalous projects.
“Malinaw po na dahil sa ating pagsiwalat sa mga anomalyang ito, tayo ay naging target ng hindi makatarungang atake, kahihiyan, at mga bagay na purong kasinungalingan lamang (It is clear that due to the exposing these anomalies, we became a target of unjustifiable attack, shame and things that purely lies),” Estrada lamented.
He further lambasted Hernandez not as a whistleblower but as a “disgraced public official” who embezzled hundreds of millions and led a luxurious lifestyle funded by public money.
Estrada, who has himself faced corruption charges in the past, claimed that he is now being persecuted for his role in exposing deeper anomalies in control projects.
Recalling a case of what he called a “fake” whistleblower, Angelo “Ador” Mawanay, in 2001, Estrada warned against allowing false testimonies to derail legitimate investigations.
“Ako ay inaakusahan ng isang taong nahaharap mismo sa mabibigat na alegasyon (I am being accused by a man facing serious allegations himself)—someone whose testimony is riddled with inconsistencies and denials, which cast serious doubts about his credibility," he said in both Filipino and English during the hearing.
The senator also challenged Hernandez to repeat his accusations before the Senate panel.
“Nandito ako ngayon para harapin ang nag-aakusa sa akin at hamunin siya na ulitin at patunayan sa harap nitong Blue Ribbon Committee at sa harapan ko lahat ng kasinungalingan na binitiwan niya under oath sa House Tri-Comm hearing (I am here to face my accuser and challenge him again to prove in front of the Blue ribbon committee and in front of me all of he the lies mentioned under oath at the House Tri-Comm),” Estrada stressed.
Estrada said he moved to cite Hernandez in contempt for allegedly lying under oath. The committee subsequently ordered Hernandez’s detention.
The senator further decried what he called “trial by publicity” and Hernandez’s alleged manipulation of public sentiment.
Estrada asserted that no Senate witness has been subjected to intimidation or physical threats under the institution’s care.
“Walang makapagsasabi na ang Senado o sinuman sa mga miyembro nito, past or present, ay pinahintulutan ang sinumang witness under its watch maging threatened, intimidated, influenced o di kaya’y exposed sa kahit anong pisikal na panganib,” he said.
“I will leave for now to the Chairman and the other members of this Committee the task of probing deeper into the credibility of Brice Hernandez IF HE STILL HAS ANY, his accusations against this representation and Senator Villanueva, and other falsehoods he dared to spread under oath into the records of the House of Representatives yet suspiciously withheld from this Committee,” he added.