Three dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers and contractor couple Pacifico and Sarah Discaya are now under government protection as “protected witnesses” in the investigation into alleged anomalies in infrastructure projects, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced.
“We consider them already protected witnesses,” Remulla told reporters, adding that he had written to the Senate President to formally inform him of the development. “We will give them the protection needed to continue with the revelations,” he said.
The engineers include dismissed Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, and Assistant Engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza.
On Tuesday, Alcantara testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and submitted an affidavit detailing irregularities in flood control projects. Hernandez and Mendoza, for their part, admitted that most of the projects in Bulacan were either substandard or overpriced.
As a gesture of good faith, Hernandez turned over his central processing unit and two luxury vehicles: a GMC worth P12 million and a Lamborghini Urus valued at over P30 million.
Remulla noted that the witnesses’ disclosures have gone beyond what was initially presented in the Senate hearings, broadening the scope of the probe.
However, he clarified that while the engineers and the Discaya couple are already classified as “protected witnesses,” none of them have been granted the status of state witness.
“It takes a lot of doing to declare a person as a state witness because you’re freeing them completely from criminal liability… It has to be worth it for our country,” Remulla explained, confirming that no state witnesses have been named so far.
