Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson confirmed that the Senate Committee on Accountability, Public Officers and Investigations, or the Blue Ribbon Committee, has received additional evidence from former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 1st District Assistant Engineer Brice Hernandez.
The evidence could potentially implicate not only Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva but also other politicians allegedly involved in irregular flood control projects.
In an interview after meeting with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), Lacson, who currently chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, said Hernandez was allowed to temporarily return home to retrieve the evidence. The Senate has since provided him with tighter security.
“The important thing is to get to the bottom of the case and hold those accountable to task. Not just the Hernandezes and Alcantaras of this world, but those above them. As of now we cannot get to them until we gather enough evidence,” Lacson said in the interview.
Lacson confirmed that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will scrutinize the boxes of documents submitted by Hernandez in a hearing set for Tuesday, September 23.
It will be recalled that Hernandez earlier accused Estrada and Villanueva of receiving kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects, particularly in the province of Bulacan.