DPWH Engineer Testifies to P5B in Kickbacks for Henry Alcantara
State witness Carlo Rivera testified before the Sandiganbayan Third Division that he delivered at least P5 billion in kickbacks from contractors to former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara, ABS-CBN reported.
The money represented a standard 25 percent commitment fee extracted from infrastructure projects across Bulacan between 2022 and 2025. Rivera made the disclosures during the ongoing plunder bail hearing of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, detailing an intricate network of deliveries, black plastic containers, and suitcases.
Bulacan Infrastructure Project Costs Surge to P14.19 Billion
The scale of the infrastructure funding underpinning the alleged kickback scheme grew sharply over the four-year period examined by the court. Rivera detailed that the total cost of Bulacan infrastructure projects reached P519 million in 2022, before surging to P12.93 billion in 2023, peaking at P14.19 billion in 2024, and registering at P7.385 billion in 2025.
Rivera explained that he coordinated directly with representatives of several firms to collect the funds. His designated contacts included Topnotch Catalyst Builders, ARL Builders, Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp., and SYMS Construction Trading, according to ABS-CBN. For SYMS Construction Trading, Rivera dealt with former DPWH Bulacan 1st District Assistant Engineer Brice Hernandez. SYMS contractor Sally Santos previously testified that she lent her license to Hernandez in exchange for a three percent royalty.
The Delivery Chain to Proponents
Once collected, the cash was brought directly to Alcantara’s office. Rivera testified that he would store the funds in a secret room inside the district engineer’s office and notify Alcantara that the delivery was complete. Alcantara’s former personal assistant, Wirt Walter Rosales, previously told the court that he helped Rivera count the money before packing it into plastic containers and suitcases.
The funds were subsequently transferred to former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, who was responsible for distributing the money to various project proponents. The prosecution presented black plastic containers in court, which Rivera identified as the exact receptacles used during the operations.
Rivera stated that Alcantara provided him with a consolidated list of project proponents whose designated infrastructure projects received funding allocations. That list included Co, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, and former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., as reported by GMA Network.
However, when pressed by defense lawyers during cross-examination, Rivera confirmed that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s name did not appear anywhere on the proponent lists he prepared. Romualdez faces plunder charges before the anti-graft court in connection with an alleged P7.44 billion infrastructure kickback scheme.
Romualdez’s bail hearings are scheduled to resume, with prosecutors set to call former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo to the stand.