Former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has committed to restitute ₱1 billion to the government as part of his agreement to be placed under the Witness Protection Program (WPP), Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon confirmed.
Fadullon said the amount will be returned “over a period of time” and noted that Bernardo, along with three others—former DPWH Bulacan 1st District engineer Henry Alcantara, DPWH-NCR regional director Gerard Opulencia, and contractor Sally Santos of SYMS Construction Trading—signed a memorandum of agreement to become state witnesses in flood control anomaly cases.
While Bernardo has yet to make restitution, Fadullon said the other three have already returned funds.
“Suffice it to say, from the four of them… more or less close to ₱317 million have already been returned and is now with the National Treasury,” he stated.
Records show Alcantara returned ₱110 million and ₱71 million, Santos ₱5 million and ₱15 million, and Opulencia ₱40 million in late 2025.
Fadullon explained that restitution amounts are based on the extent of involvement and benefits derived from projects.
“We look at how much benefit they derived from it or the extent of their involvement. That is what we compute as the basis for how much they will have to return,” he said, adding, “We try to approximate it. We cannot really be sure if these are the only cases, but for now, in these cases, we identified their involvement and the money they received.”
He clarified that immunity for the four is limited to cases covered by their agreement, meaning charges may still be filed if future investigations uncover additional funds or involvement.
Fadullon also said former DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza were not included in the WPP, as prosecutors believe there is already sufficient evidence to convict them.
He confirmed that other DPWH officials and contractors are being processed as possible witnesses.