Sotto allows Brice Hernandez to get evidence in flood control mess

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Friday confirmed that he has granted former Bulacan 1st district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez permission to temporarily leave the Senate premises and gather evidence to support his claims against certain personalities linked to the flood control anomalies.

Sotto said that Hernandez will be escorted by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to get necessary documents, following his accusation that Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva were involved in the controversy.

“Yes, I allowed it na (already). Man to man guarding even sa kwarto (even in the room), to locate documents he needs to show. Balik (he’ll be back at) Senate by 6 p.m.,” the Senate President said.

Hernandez, one of the Department of Public Works and Highways personnel implicated in the issue, is currently detained at the Senate after he was cited in contempt by the Blue Ribbon Committee. 

During the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, Hernandez asked if the contempt order against him could be lifted so that he could find evidence to prove that there were other high-ranking officials involved in the controversy. 

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who is the chairman of the committee, denied the engineer's plea, saying it would be unfair for other individuals who were cited in contempt by the Senate.

Sotto then said that he signed an order to allow the engineer to testify before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which was created by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to look into anomalous flood control projects.

Hernandez had alleged that Villanueva and Estrada received at least 30% in kickbacks from nearly P1 billion worth of flood control projects in Bulacan.

Both senators denied the allegation.

Lacson, meanwhile, said that Villanueva and Estrada have not been cleared on the issue of budget insertions involving infrastructure projects in Bulacan worth P600 million and P355 million respectively, as alleged by Hernandez. —AOL, GMA Integrated News