Alcantara, Hernandez, Mendoza, Santos submit counter-affidavit on Bulacan ghost projects

Former Department of Public Work and Highways (DPWH) engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and contractor Sally Santos submitted their counter-affidavits on the complaints filed against them over five ghost flood control projects in Bulacan, an official said Monday.

“They were here present, with counsel, and they filed their counter-affidavits. And they were able to swear before the panel of prosecutors,” Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez said in an ambush interview.

The complaints were for malversation, graft, and perjury. 

However, Martinez said that Santos’ camp filed her counter-affidavit ahead of the preliminary hearing at the department earlier today. She was no longer personally present at the hearing.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) was earlier deputized by the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct the preliminary hearing on the complaints.

The DOJ initially recommended to the Ombudsman the filing of graft, malversation, perjury and falsification of public documents charges against DPWH officials of the Bulacan First District Engineering Office and contractors.

Meanwhile, Martinez said that some of the respondents asked for an extension to file their counter-affidavits.

He said they were given only four days until November 28, the next setting of the hearing.

“This is a non-extendible period. Whether or not they do file on such day, we will then proceed to resolve the case based on the counter-affidavit submitted. Or if wala, based on the complaint submitted by the NBI,” he said.

Martinez explained that extensions are “naturally granted” in the ordinary course of things. He stressed that the four-day extension is already limited.

“Normally, for extensions of time, we would grant as much as two weeks for other cases. that applies to all cases across the board. But here in this case, nilimit po natin ang panahon na pwe-pwede po sila mag-file ng counter-affidavit (we limited the time when they can file their counter-affidavit),” he said.

He said that the Department of Justice is pursuing the case with expediency. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News