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Janvic Mateo - The Philippine Star
January 17, 2026 | 12:00am
Retired Department of Public Works and Highways operations undersecretary Roberto Bernardo appears before the Blue Ribbon Committee on Sept. 25, 2025.
Senate of the Philippines via Facebook / Wendell D. Alinea
MANILA, Philippines — As part of the agreement for him to be placed under the government’s witness protection program (WPP), former public works undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has committed to restitute P1 billion to the government, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said yesterday.
Fadullon confirmed the amount, which he said will be returned “over a period of time,” during an interview with “Storycon” on One News.
Bernardo was among the four people who signed a memorandum of agreement with the government for them to become state witnesses in some cases related to flood control anomalies.
The others were former Department of Public Works and Highways district engineer Henry Alcantara, DPWH-National Capital Region regional director Gerard Opulencia and private contractor Sally Santos, owner and general manager of SYMS Construction Trading.
Fadullon said the other three have also committed to restitute money to the government, although he was not able to provide the exact figures.
“Suffice it to say, from the four of them… more or less close to P317 million have already been returned and is now with the National Treasury,” he said.
Previous reports showed that the three have already made partial restitutions: P110 million and P71 million from Alcantara on Nov. 28 and Dec. 19, respectively; P5 million and P15 million from Santos on Dec. 4 and Dec. 22, respectively; and P40 million from Opulencia on Dec. 16.
There had been no reports of restitution from Bernardo.
According to Fadullon, the amounts were based on the projects that the individuals were involved in. “We look at how much benefit they derived from it or the extent of their involvement. That is what we compute as the basis for how much they will have to return,” he said in Filipino.
“We try to approximate it. We cannot really be sure if these are the only cases, but for now, in these cases, we identified their involvement and the money they received,” he added.
Fadullon said this does not mean that the amounts are already fixed.
“If, for example, it is proven that they were involved in a case and that there are other funds they obtained and benefited from, these would be the subject of other cases and grounds for pursuing them,” he pointed out.
Fadullon clarified that the immunity granted to the four is limited to the cases covered by the agreement that they signed with the government. This means that charges may still be filed against them depending on future investigations of state prosecutors.
As to the decision not to include former DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza in the WPP, Fadullon expressed belief that they already have enough evidence to secure convictions. He also confirmed they are processing other possible witnesses, including DPWH officials and contractors.
Bong Revilla, 6 others charged with graft, malversation
Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman has filed cases of graft and non-bailable malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents against former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and six former DPWH officials in Bulacan in connection with an alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi town. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Elizabeth Marcelo
