DISMISSED Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara, who admitted involvement in corruption related to government infrastructure projects, returned P110 million in cash to the national treasury through the Department of Justice (DOJ) Friday, November 28, 2025.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida received the money, which was turned over by Alcantara’s lawyer.
In a press conference, Vida said the restituted cash is part of the P300 million “unlawfully obtained” by Alcantara from anomalous flood control projects.
“Ang restitution may kinukwento sila na mga transaction, based on that ‘yung mga na-accumulate nila, based on those transactions. Kaya ito, this is part of the P300 million committed amount for restitution only for those particularly cases na minention niya," Vida said.
(They are recounting the transactions, and based on those, this is what they accumulated. So this is part of the P300 million committed for restitution, specifically for the cases he mentioned.)
“May panel evaluating [how much money should be returned]. Simple lang po: kapag sinabi niya, ‘Nag-deliver ako ng ganto, total P1 billion, at dito sa deliver ko na ito may kinita ako na two percent,’ kasama kasi yun sa salaysay niya. Kaya inuuri namin ang mga salaysay kung makatotohanan ba o hindi, at doon binabase ang restitution,” he added.
(There is a panel evaluating how much money should be returned. It’s simple: if he says, "I delivered this, totaling P1 billion, and from this delivery I earned two percent," that is included in his account. We then assess whether these statements are truthful or not, and the restitution is based on that evaluation.)
Vida said they are convinced, based on Alcantara’s statements, that he should restitute P300 million to the nation’s coffers. However, he clarified that this does not mean Alcantara, now provisionally admitted to the DOJ’s witness protection program, is covered by absolute immunity.
“Kaya 'pag may nadiskubre kami na siya ay sangkot pa sa ibang usapin, na kapag binangga namin sa aming datos [which will show] nag-withhold ka pala sa amin ng information, kasangkot ka rin pala dito, hindi siya abswelto sa pananagutan doon. Ang immunity po ng witness protection program—yung provisional admission na binigay ngayon ng DOJ—ay patungkol lamang sa mga usapin na iyon,” said Vida.
(So if we discover that he is involved in other matters, and when we cross-check with our data [which will show] that he withheld information from us, he is also implicated in those cases. He is not absolved of responsibility there. The immunity under the witness protection program—the provisional admission granted by the DOJ—is applicable only to those specific matters.)
Vida said the money turned over by Alcantara will be taken into custody by the Bureau of Treasury for validation and counting.
Alcantara earlier detailed a money-making scheme involving public funds intended for flood control projects.
He claimed to have delivered kickbacks from these projects to retired DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, and Caloocan Second District Representative Mary Mitzi “Mitch” Cajayon-Uy.
Meanwhile, Vida said their computations indicate that Bernardo should return not less than P1 billion to the government.
He noted that Bernardo has assigned a bank account with P7 million to the DOJ, although the account has been frozen by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Bernardo corroborated Alcantara’s statements, also tagging Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero and former Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla and Nancy Binay in the flood control project anomalies. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)