Kickbacks rose to 25% under Romualdez

State witness and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer Henry Alcantara testified Tuesday that kickbacks for infrastructure projects rose from 20 to 25 percent in 2022 when Martin Romualdez became House speaker.

Alcantara made the claim during the Sandiganbayan Third Division’s bail hearing for Romualdez, who faces a plunder case over his alleged receipt of P7.4 billion in infrastructure kickbacks from 2022 to 2025. Former representative Zaldy Co is also accused in the case.

According to Alcantara, Co determined the kickback rates, which were described as “commitment fees,” for projects to be included in the national budget. Co allegedly initially set the rate at 20 percent before it was raised to 25 percent.

Alcantara said contractors provided the money to assure that they would be awarded government projects. Associate Justice Karl Miranda asked how contractors could guarantee the return of their advances.

The witness described the arrangement as a matter of “trust,” saying the practice existed even before he was assigned to the Bulacan First District Engineering Office.

Contractors were supposedly informed through a coordinator which company would receive a project, with the bidding process rigged to ensure the promised award.

Alcantara said the payments to Co were made in stages. A partial commitment fee was delivered once a project appeared in the National Expenditure Program, while the remaining amount was handed over after its inclusion in the enacted General Appropriations Act (GAA).

He said a similar arrangement applied to his cash deliveries to former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.

The contractors received their share of the arrangement when the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released the project funds to the DPWH. Alcantara said he had never encountered a case where funding was withheld for a project whose contractor had paid a commitment fee.

Duraboxes for cash deliveries

Alcantara testified that he initially used plastic storage boxes, or duraboxes, to transport the cash to Co before switching to suitcases or maletas in 2023.

He said his first three deliveries were made in duraboxes, each containing between P30 million and P40 million, depending on its size. The amounts were written on Post-it notes stuck to the containers.

According to Alcantara, Co requested the switch because the durabox handles frequently broke.

The change coincided with the former lawmaker’s change of delivery address, he said.

Alcantara said his initial deliveries in 2022 were made to the Shangri-La Residences in Taguig, where he met John Paul Estrada, a member of Co’s staff. Later deliveries were allegedly made to Co’s residence in Valle Verde, Pasig.

Prosecution witness George Orbillo had earlier testified on the use of duraboxes to transport cash to Co. Orbillo brought one of the containers to the anti-graft court, saying he had obtained it from his former boss to use for his personal belongings.

Alcantara said the commitment fee system was already in place before he became a district engineer in 2019, when he was still working as a private engineer. He said he did not know who started the scheme.

During cross-examination by Romualdez’s lawyers, Alcantara acknowledged that he had never implicated or mentioned the former House speaker in his appearances before legislative inquiries into the flood control controversy.