By Alvin Murcia,Edjen Oliquino,Gabriela Baron,Lade Jean Kabagani

Copyright tribune

The multibillion-peso “Floodgate” scandal’s waves of corruption lapped at the very gates of the reported Forbes Park residences of former speaker Martin Romualdez and Malacañang itself, as new testimonies shook the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday.Orly Regala Guteza, a former Marine and security aide to Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, alleged that he delivered suitcases stuffed with cash to the homes of Co and Romualdez. Each suitcase, he said, contained about P48 million, with the amounts marked on Post-it notes on the sides of the cases.According to Guteza, the money was first received by Co’s aides, John Paul Estrada and Mark Tecsay, after being counted at the congressman’s Valle Verde home and transferred to Co’s Horizon Residences unit in Taguig City.Likewise, he revealed, Benguet Rep. Eric Yap also delivered 46 suitcases to Co’s residence — of which 35 were delivered to Romualdez’s Forbes Park home, with the rest left at Co’s Taguig condominium unit.“I personally delivered the luggage more than three times to the house of Congressman Zaldy Co in Horizon Residences and the house of Speaker Romualdez at 42 McKinley Street, Taguig,” Guteza said. (McKinley Road is in Forbes Park, Makati City –ed.)He said that money was also delivered to another residence of Romualdez, also located in Forbes Park, on Narra Avenue that was reportedly sold to the former speaker by Chinese businessman Michael Yang. Later, the ex-marine said he also delivered money to “Aguado Street near Malacañang,” a little-known property, also allegedly belonging to Romualdez.Guteza added that the deliveries occurred until he resigned in August. Other testimonies added to the widening scandal with former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo implicating Co, Sen. Francis Escudero, and former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Nancy Binay in anomalous flood control projects.In previous Senate hearings, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva were tagged as recipients of kickbacks from dubious flood control projects in Bulacan.Bernardo said that Escudero’s campaign contributor, Maynard Ngu, asked him to submit a list of projects, some of which later appeared in the General Appropriations Act.‘P160-M for Chiz’“After inclusion of the projects in the GAA, I delivered 20 percent of approximately P800 million, or about P160 million, to Maynard Ngu, which was meant for Senator Escudero,” Bernardo said.He also claimed that dismissed Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara collected a 15-percent cut — about P37 million — for Binay, which he said he later delivered to her house in Quezon City.Bernardo further alleged in the affidavit he read at the start of the hearing that unprogrammed appropriations linked to the scandal were tied to the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES).He testified that Department of Education Undersecretary Trygve Olaivar asked him to prepare a P2.85-billion list of projects in 2024, telling him: “Boss, kinse ‘yan (that’s 15).” Alcantara, he added, would collect the supposed 15-percent cut for delivery to Olaivar.Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin categorically denied the claim.“I deny the imputation contained in the sworn statement of DPWH undersecretary Bernardo about the delivery of an ‘agreed 15 percent commitment’ supposedly for the Office of the Executive Secretary,” he said.“The imputation is not true.” Bersamin stressed that the OES plays no role in DPWH budgetary allocations and said he stood by his “untarnished record” as a long-serving public servant. Olaivar had earlier issued his own denial.Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, confirmed that Bernardo has been granted “protected witness” status due to threats to his security. “He’s now considered a protected witness. We will give him security,” he said, noting that Bernardo’s testimony will still be evaluated before the DoJ decides if he qualifies as a state witness under the Witness Protection Program.Provisional protectionRemulla said several former DPWH official — Brice Ericson Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and Alcantara — as well as contractors Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya, had also been granted provisional protection. The DoJ chief clarified, however, that they are not yet state witnesses. Guteza has also sought inclusion in the DoJ’s WPP, citing threats to his life.Also during the hearing, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco reiterated his claim that lawmakers received at least 20 percent for “inserted” projects in their districts. He explained the “sagasa” scheme, where projects are “parked” in congressional districts without the knowledge of the representatives.“Sometimes, the congressman does not know (that allocations had been earmarked for his district). That is what is called ‘sagasa’ (ramming). He’ll just be surprised when the General Appropriations Act comes out,” Tiangco said.He named Co as the one responsible for questionable fund insertions, citing allocations of P3 billion to Abra and another to Occidental Mindoro, which their respective representatives allegedly never requested.Under renovationTiangco has filed an ethics complaint against Co, accusing him of masterminding last-minute budget insertions and realignments in violation of the Constitution and the Code of Conduct for Public Officials.The flood of accusations has triggered a wave of denials.Co called the allegations “false and baseless,” while Romualdez insisted, “the so-called testimony of Senator Marcoleta’s witness is an outright and complete fabrication — nothing more than a desperate attempt to link me to supposed kickbacks where none exist. Pilit na pilit (It was forced).”Yap likewise denied Guteza’s claims, calling them “untrue” and vowing to face his accuser.Escudero, who admitted receiving P30 million in campaign funds in 2022 from contractor Lawrence Lubiano, dismissed Bernardo’s testimony as “malicious” and said he would file charges.Binay, now Makati mayor, said she was being used as a distraction.Romualdez called Guteza’s accusations “impossible,” noting that the property cited had been under renovation since January last year and was occupied only by construction workers.“Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus — false in one thing, false in everything,” Romualdez said.He described Guteza’s statements as “perjurious” and “politically motivated,” saying they were a “product of coaching.” He also warned he would not let the allegations pass.Romualdez and Co were first implicated in the scandal earlier this month when big-time contractor Curlee Discaya accused them of receiving 10 to 25-percent kickbacks from projects awarded to his firms.Discaya later denied having direct dealings with either Romualdez or Co, saying other colleagues demanding commissions may have been using their names for leverage.Romualdez reiterated that he never received or benefited from kickbacks in any infrastructure project, nor has he ever “authorized, instructed, or allowed anyone to engage in any conduct that would betray the people or taint my name.”The congressional probe, which has exposed several lawmakers in the alleged scheme, prompted Romualdez to resign as speaker. He said the move was to uphold the independence of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s investigation and avoid any hint of political interference.“I remained silent out of respect for the process, but now that my name has been maliciously dragged into this controversy, I will fight back — not with rhetoric, but with evidence,” Romualdez declared.“I have never stolen public funds. I don’t need money from illegal means,” he said.