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Brice Hernandez out of Senate to gather evidence on flood control — Sotto
Former Bulacan 1st district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez has left the premises of the Senate to gather evidence to support his claims against certain personalities linked to flood control project anomalies, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said Saturday.
In a report by Super Radyo dzBB, Sotto said Hernandez was temporarily allowed to go out of the Senate this morning to go home.
BRICE, MANGANGALAP NG EBIDENSYA
— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 20, 2025
Bulacan 1st Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, nakalabas na pansamantala ng Senado ngayong umaga para mangalap ng ebidensya tungkol sa mga personalidad na iniuugnay sa maanomalyang flood control projects.
The Senate President, in a Viber message, said Hernandez's convoy was "heavily guarded," according to the dzBB report.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore and blue ribbon committee chairman Senator Panfilo Lacson did not immediately provide details on the matter, but assured that updates will be provided.
Sotto earlier said Hernandez would be escorted by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to get necessary documents, following his statements linking Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva to the controversy.
Hernandez, one of the former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel implicated in the controversy, is under Senate custody 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 may be lifted so that he could find evidence to prove that there were other high-ranking officials involved in the controversy.
Lacson denied the engineer's plea, saying it would be unfair for other individuals who were cited in contempt by the Senate.
Sotto then said 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 have denied the allegation.
Lacson, meanwhile, said 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. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
