Bernardo: Estrada received P573-M kickback in four deliveries

Senator Jinggoy Estrada received infrastructure kickbacks amounting to P573-million from contractors between a nine-month period between 2024 and 2025, former Public Works undersecretary Roberto Bernardo said.

Bernardo made the claim during his testimony at the bail hearing of the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division for Estrada’s case of plunder over the said allegations.

The former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) executive turned state witness said that the amount came from the 25 percent commitment fee taken from the projects wherein the senator served as a proponent.

It was stated during the proceedings that the total amount of projects that Estrada pushed for inclusion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) totaled P2.3 billion.

Bernardo said that the commitment fees that he received came from fellow state witness former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, who delivered the amounts to his residence at Diamond Hotel in Manila.

He stated that the large amounts of cash were stored at the basement parking of Diamond Hotel for days in a bulletproof van for days on end with no security guards.

The projects that were involved in the scheme reportedly came from a list that Alcantara himself and former DPWH National Capital Region Regional Director Gerard Opulencia collected.

The witness likewise noted that he had communicated information to Estrada regarding the commitment fees through phone calls and personal visits.

A particular matter that he said was discussed in the exchanges was pertaining to the additional funding that the senator asked for to serve as election expenses for the national poll that was slated in 2025.

It can be recalled that during former DPWH Manuel Bonoan’s testimony on Tuesday, 27 October, he said that Estrada had allegedly requested for an additional P500 million on top of his P500 million Senate leadership fund for the assistance.

Kickback deliveries

As for the delivery of commitment fees to Estrada, Bernardo claimed that he would call the senator to affirm that a member of his staff would carry out the deliveries.

Vergel Niño Santos, one of the undersecretary’s staff, had previously testified before the Sandiganbayan in a separate case that he had carried out deliveries for Bernardo for numerous public officials.

Santos said that he had brought a total of 12 boxes to Estrada, alleging that he even saw the senator during his deliveries.

He would note that he was not personally aware of what was inside the boxes and that he did not necessarily take the initiative to ask his boss about the contents of the containers.

Bernardo, on the other hand, admitted that his recollection of the deliveries was not completely detailed but was certain that the same were made around the time between July 2024 and 2025.

Of the four deliveries that were allegedly conducted to Estrada, Bernardo said that he only participated once, a delivery made in June 2025 to San Juan along with his driver Isko Dela Fuente.

Estrada challenges Bernardo claims

Estrada, who asked to leave his hearing prior to its conclusion, told reporters that he found numerous inconsistencies in Bernardo’s testimony.

“I’m satisfied with the cross examination of our lawyers, the witness has a lot of inconsistencies…it’s full of inconsistencies, the testimony,” he said before leaving the Sandiganbayan.

“He didn’t deliver cash to me, it’s clear that he didn’t bring cash to me,” he added.

The senator was escorted by authorities back to his detention facility at the New Quezon City Jail - Male Dormitory.