Loren Cruz denies being Henry Alcantara's bagman

Loren Cruz, the owner of the “tambayan” where the money from anomalous flood control projects was allegedly brought, on Tuesday denied that he is the bagman of dismissed Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara.

“Hindi po ako bagman,” Cruz said during the resumption of the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on flood control projects.

(I’m not a bagman.)

He added that he is a businessman.

Former Bulacan 1st assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez previously affirmed that Cruz is a bagman of Alcantara.

According to blue ribbon panel chairman Senator Panfilo Lacson, many vehicles donated by Alcantara were traced and found to be under Cruz’s name.

Cruz, for his part, admitted that he is the owner of the “tambayan” but said that he only knows of one instance when money was brought there.

This led Senator Raffy Tulfo to slam Cruz for supposedly being unaware of what is going on in his own establishment.  

“So hindi mo alam magbabagsak diyan milyones na pera diyan sa bahay mo. Hindi ka aware? Ano ka? Ta__ga?” he said.

(So you don’t know that millions of pesos will be dropped at your house. You’re not aware? What are you? Stupid?)

Tulfo also said that it is unlikely for a group to bring money to the “tambayan” without informing Cruz.  

In response, Cruz stressed that the group can go to the establishment at any time.

“‘Yung sinasabi nilang ‘tambayan,’ open naman po sila mag punta doon. Kahit anytime po sila magpunta doon, nakakapunta po sila. Kaya hindi ko po mino-monitor kung nagpupunta sila, kung kelan sila nagpupunta,” he said.

(That place they call ‘tambayan,’ they are free to go there. Anytime they want to go, they can. That’s why I don’t monitor whether they go there or when they go there.)

“Pagkakita ko po, ‘yung isang instance na ‘yun, ay pinagsabihan ko sila na ‘wag na sila magdadala doon,” he added.

(When I saw it, that one instance, I told them not to bring it there anymore.)

He said he does not know what the money was for as he is not part of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

However, Hernandez said that money was delivered to the establishment more than once.

Following this, Tulfo told Cruz that he is a “liar.”

Hernandez said that there was a time when a billion was brought to the tambayan for delivery to a proponent.

“Hindi po para sa amin ‘yun, your honor. Ang alam ko po delivery po ‘yun, for delivery po sa proponent. Kung tama po ang pagkakaalala ko,” he said.

(That was not for us, your honor. What I know is that it was a delivery, for delivery to the proponent. If I recall correctly.)

Asked who the proponent is, Hernandez answered, “Kung tama po ‘yung pagkakaalala ko. Sabi po ni Boss Henry, ‘yun po ‘yung kay Zaldy Co.”

(If I recall correctly. Boss Henry said that was for Zaldy Co.)

He denied that he received any commission for the delivery. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News