Ex-DPWH usec Bernardo to face Senate probe on September 25

Senator Ping Lacson says former DPWH undersecretary Roberdo Bernardo dedicated to attending Thursday’s listening to, including that Bernardo already submitted his ready affidavit to the blue ribbon

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Professional Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson stated that former Division of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo will face the blue ribbon probe on Thursday, September 25.

Bernardo’s title has been talked about in earlier hearings, linking him to anomalous flood management tasks that resulted in billions of pesos misplaced to corruption. On Wednesday, September 24, Lacson stated that Bernardo had dedicated to attending Thursday’s listening to, including that he already submitted his ready affidavit to the blue ribbon.

“Hindi ko nga alam if magbabago isip ‘nya. Mayroon na siyang naunang affidavit pero magazine supplemental uncooked siya,” Lacson instructed reporters. (I don’t know if he’ll change his thoughts. He already has a earlier affidavit, however he stated he’ll submit a supplemental one.)

In a bombshell exposé on Tuesday, September 23, former DPWH Bulacan 1st District engineer Henry Alcantara revealed that he had labored with Bernardo in giving kickbacks from flood management tasks to the camps of senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, former senator Bong Revilla Jr., Ako Bicol Consultant Zaldy Co, and former Caloocan consultant Mitch Cajayon.

“Taong 2022 nagsimulang magbaba ng pondo sa aking DO (district workplace) si usec Bernardo, ang kasunduan ay 25% [ng proyekto] para sa proponent,” Alcantara stated.

(In 2022, usec Bernardo started releasing funds to my district workplace. The settlement was that 25% of the challenge would go to the proponent.)

Bernardo rose from the ranks in DPWH. He started his profession in 1986 as a civil engineering aide. In 2013, he was requested by then-Manila Metropolis mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada to be the officer-in-charge of town engineering workplace.

In 2017, in the course of the Rodrigo Duterte administration, then-DPWH Secretary Mark Villar appointed Bernardo as DPWH undersecretary for regional operations in Visayas, Nationwide Capital Area (NCR), and Area IV-B the place he was positioned answerable for all regional workplaces within the Visayas, the NCR, and the MIMAROPA (Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon).

Lacson earlier uncovered Bernardo’s hyperlinks to the Pampanga-based agency Globalcrete Builders by his daughter, Sunshine Bernardo — one of many incorporators of MBB World Properties — alongside Fatima Homosexual Bonoan dela Cruz, daughter of former DPWH chief Manuel Bonoan, and Macy Maglangue, daughter of Candaba Mayor Rene Maglanque.

Globalcrete, owned by the Maglanque household, bagged over P2.5 billion value of tasks throughout Bonoan’s time period. – Rappler.com