Senate President Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said he requested the temporary release of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan district engineer Brice Hernandez from Senate custody, so he can retrieve documentary evidence to support his claims of alleged 30% commissions received by senators from flood control projects.
Lacson said he drafted a formal letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, seeking permission for Hernandez to leave the Senate premises under guard between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday.
“If Hernandez cannot produce the documents, his claims will remain allegations,” Lacson said in a television interview on Friday.
“But if he can produce them by Monday or in the next hearing, we can use them to recommend charges against our colleagues before the ICI or Ombudsman,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lacson said he is shifting into what he calls “sagasa mode” (a no-holds-barred push for accountability) as he demands hard proof of alleged 30% commissions allegedly pocketed by senators from multimillion-peso flood control projects.
Following bombshell testimony by Hernandez, Lacson confirmed that his office has already tracked down budget insertions in both the 2023 and 2025 General Appropriations Acts that Hernandez linked to the two senators.
In a separated radio interview on Friday, Lacson said the next step is to gather “receipts” including a documentary proof or ledgers, to support Hernandez’s claims and build a credible case for possible prosecution.
“We need to find proof or receipts if we are to make a recommendation or to pass the evidence to the ICI, to support Hernandez's claims that he gave 30% commissions to the two senators as he alleged,” Lacson said.
“The issue is whether he gave commissions to the two senators. That is for him to prove. If he has proof like a ledger, he has to show it. I told him yesterday at the hearing that the burden of proof is on him,” he added.
During Thursday’s Blue Ribbon hearing, Lacson confirmed the discovery of a P600 million allocation under the Unprogrammed Fund of the 2023 General Appropriations Act, which Hernandez earlier linked to Senator Joel Villanueva.
The insertion was unearthed by Lacson’s staff in documents provided by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
Lacson said the fund was divided into eight projects worth P75 million each, all located in Bulacan, the same province where Hernandez claimed Villanueva facilitated questionable flood control allocations. Villanueva has denied the allegations.
Further, Lacson flagged P355 million worth of projects in Bulacan under the 2025 budget that Hernandez associated with Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
He noted that these were supposedly for the third phase of construction, yet on-site inspections indicate they are still in phase one, suggesting premature or questionable disbursement of funds.
Estrada, like Villanueva, has denied the allegations against him.
“One issue was that funds were released for the third phase, but the project is still in the first phase of construction,” Lacson explained.
Asked if Hernandez could be made a state witness, Lacson deferred to the Department of Justice, saying it is the appropriate body to determine Hernandez’s eligibility for witness protection and immunity.
Lacson emphasized that he and Senate President Sotto are in full pursuit of the truth, regardless of political consequences.
“Sotto and I talked about this. At this stage of our political careers, we’re going all out, no matter who gets hurt,” he said.
Hernandez claimed that select lawmakers received 30% kickbacks from DPWH-implemented flood control projects.