Rowegie Abanto

Former DPWH-Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara attends the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects in the country at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on September 23, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

FLOOD CONTROL PROBE

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176888228208220250923-senate-probe-flood-control-alcantara-JC3633.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Former DPWH-Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara attends the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — A spokesperson for the Department of Justice on Tuesday offered some form of explanation on how the agency admitted former public works executives to the government&#x27;s witness protection program, amid concerns about their qualifications.</p><p>The DOJ last week announced that former public works officials Roberto Bernardo, Henry Alcantara, and Gerard Opulencia as well as contractor Sally Santos were already state witnesses in the flood control projects scam cases.</p><p>Being a state witness means that an accused enjoys some form of immunity from prosecution — a privilege that some ask whether the former government officials deserve, given their alleged involvement in the flood control scandal.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/15/contractor-3-ex-dpwh-officials-now-state-witnesses-in-flood-control-cases-1438">DOJ: Contractor, 3 ex-DPWH officials now state witnesses in flood control cases</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/12/the-bulacan-group-of-contractors-who-are-they-2222">The ‘Bulacan Group of Contractors’: Who are they?</a></div><p>Speaking on ANC, DOJ spokesperson Raphael Martinez said the agency&#x27;s panel of prosecutors handling applications for witness protection &quot;found that it is [they] who qualified the most&quot; based on the criteria under the witness protection law.</p><p><strong></strong>&quot;And that&#x27;s how their affidavits, their testimonies, would corroborate that of the other witnesses and how it corroborates the other test — other evidence available with the DOJ,&quot; he added.</p><p>According to the Witness Protection, Security, and Benefit Act or Republic Act No. 6981, an accused who wants to become a state witness should not appear to be the most guilty, and there should be an &quot;absolute necessity&quot; for their testimony.</p><p>The law also requires that the offense in which their testimony will be used is a &quot;grave felony.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/doj-says-discaya-couple-not-cooperating-on-witness-protection-program-1803">DOJ says Discaya couple not cooperating on Witness Protection Program</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/20/curlee-discaya-says-he-felt-robbed-when-asked-to-restitute-0705">Curlee Discaya says he felt &#x27;robbed&#x27; when asked to restitute</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;POINT TO BIGGER FISH&#x27;</strong></div><p>When pressed about why the former public works officials were qualified to become state witnesses, Martinez explained that the anomalies involving flood control projects were &quot;so complex&quot; and &quot;so <strong></strong>compartmentalized in different phases.&quot; </p><p>He said that individuals who could testify to facts in &quot;one compartment cannot necessarily do so for the other compartments.&quot; </p><p>&quot;So the challenge is for us to determine which individuals in these respective compartments have enough knowledge that we could tie the whole scheme together and point to bigger fish,&quot; Martinez said.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yun &#x27;yung idea and logic that came behind picking — the panel picking them as state witnesses. It’s the whole complex scheme and how their testimonies could be tied together.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/10/flood-control-scandal-who-can-be-a-state-witness-1434">Flood control scandal: Who can be a state witness?</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/nbi-arrests-former-dpwh-bulacan-officials-brice-hernandez-jaypee-mendoza-2039">NBI arrests former DPWH-Bulacan officials Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza over &#x27;ghost&#x27; flood control project</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TRq_GsvGlfA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YWqY1rhxo7A?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>A spokesperson for the Department of Justice on Tuesday offered some form of explanation on how the agency admitted former public works executives to the government's witness protection program, amid concerns about their qualifications.</p>

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice on Tuesday offered some form of explanation on how the agency admitted former public works executives to the government's witness protection program, amid concerns about their qualifications.

Why make ex-DPWH execs state witnesses in flood scam cases? DOJ spox explains

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Why make ex-DPWH execs state witnesses in flood scam cases? DOJ spox explains

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 20, 2026 12:31 PM PHT

Read More:

Henry Alcantara

Roberto Bernardo

Flood Control

Flood Control Corruption

Flood Control Scandal

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