Alcantara to testify in Oriental Mindoro P289-M flood control case vs Zaldy Co

State witness and former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara will testify for the government’s malversation case filed against resigned Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and 15 others over the alleged substandard P289 million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. 

Government prosecutors led by lawyer Omar Sagadal on Thursday informed the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division that they will present Alcantara as a prosecution witness on Tuesday, March 24.

Likewise, Ombudsman prosecutors told the anti-graft court that they will also present a representative from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as witness for the prosecution on the following trial date set on Thursday, March 26. 

Alcantara is one of the four state witnesses in the flood control cases, alongside former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. 

Last Tuesday, Bernardo testified before the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division that Co, one of the accused in the malversation case, gave him a balato or share of P100 million through Alcantara

Bernardo told the anti-graft court that he received P40 million in 2023, P40 million in 2024, and P20 million in 2025 from Alcantara. 

Moreover, Bernardo said he received P30 million from one of the accused in the malversation case, former DPWH Region 4B Regional Director Gerald Pacanan, spanning from 2023 to 2025. 

Bernardo said the share of money from Pacanan is valued at P10 million a year.

“Your Honor, it was [a] token of gratitude for guaranteeing na maayos kausap si Engineer Alcantara," Bernardo told the anti-graft court.

“I can tell that it’s [every] third quarter of every year,” Bernardo said when asked by Sandiganbayan Sixth Division Associate Justice Kevin Vivero when he received such amounts.

Bernardo, however, said he is not aware if the ‘balato’ or share he got is from the funding for Oriental Mindoro project or any other government project. —AOL, GMA Integrated News