Brice Hernandez has names of more senators tied to kickbacks, says counsel

MANILA, Philippines, September 24 ------ Dismissed Bulacan First District assistant engineer Brice Hernandez may name four more senators in the budget insertions and alleged kickback scheme, his legal counsel said.

In an interview with One News PH's "Storycon", legal counsel Raymond Fortun said there may be six senators involved in Bulacan First District's infrastructure projects. Two of them, as he is aware of, are no longer sitting senators. "Kung ako po ang tatanungin ninyo, alam ko may anim na senador eh. Mayroon pong dalawang hindi incumbent, 'yung dalawa po ay ex," Fortun said.

He, however, noted that a more definitive number of possible lawmakers would be revealed once his client's desktop computer is unsealed. It will be turned over to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, September 24, Fortun said in a message. Hernandez already named two in the House Infra Committee's flood control probe, Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, admitting to having prepared commissions for the senators.

He claimed Estrada added P355 million to the 2025 Bulacan budget, and Villanueva inserted P600 million in 2023. These amounts matched actual items in the national budget and unplanned funds, as confirmed by Sen. Ping Lacson during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing. These involved projects for the construction of multi-purpose buildings and roads.

Source: philstar.com