Jamaine Punzalan

Sally Santos, owner of SYMS Constructions Trading, attends the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects on September 18, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Kaxandra Salonga

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/177563286662420250918-senate-flood-control-syms-sally-santos-JC0744.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sally Santos, owner of SYMS Constructions Trading, attends the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects on September 18, 2025. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em> </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — SYMS Construction owner Sally Santos claimed Wednesday she delivered around P400 million to former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/28/brice-hernandez-former-dpwh-bulacan-officials-face-arraignment-for-graft-case-1337">Brice Hernandez</a> in one go, as part of her dealings in infrastructure projects from 2024 to 2025.</p><p>Santos testified it was her biggest delivery to Hernandez during the Sandiganbayan Third Division’s bail hearing on the malversation case involving former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and several officials of DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office.</p><p>She alleged that she withdrew the money from the bank within five hours. </p><p>Out of the P1.8-billion budget for 42 infrastructure projects involving SYMS Construction and DPWH, Santos said P1.7 billion was allotted for Hernandez, while her royalty fee amounted to P80 million.</p><p>Santos said she was unaware if Hernandez portioned out the money allotted to him to other individuals.</p><p>Of the millions she benefited from, Santos said she has returned P20 million to the government and is selling properties to pay more in restitution. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SANTOS &#x27;URGED&#x27; TO IMPLICATE ALCANTARA</strong></div><p>She said that when the flood control controversy surfaced, Hernandez allegedly told her that former <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">DPWH District Engineer Henry Alcantara </a>was to blame. </p><p>Santos said she questioned Hernandez about why the projects she had entrusted to him appeared to be ghost projects. Hernandez reportedly told her that the projects were actually being implemented, but Alcantara allegedly interfered.</p><p>“Tinawagan ko si Brice. Sabi niya sakin, ma’am tinarantado tayo ni Henry Acantara. ‘Yung mga documents kinuha ni Henry… paulit-ulit niya sinasabi na si Henry ang may pakana,” Santos told the court. </p><p>She claimed that Hernandez urged her to implicate Alcantara in the flood control controversy, but she refused, saying her dealings were mostly with Hernandez and not with the former district engineer. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CONTRACTORS SELECTED BEFORE BIDDING</strong></div><p>Under cross examination, Santos said it was Hernandez who convinced her to establish a construction company in 2019.</p><p>She added that since their dealings began, Hernandez would pre-select infrastructure projects for her ahead of the bidding process.</p><p>“Ganoon po kasi doon sa [Bulacan] district. May nakalaan na pong mga pangalan tapos nagbibid lang ako,” Santos told the court.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LICENSE ‘LENDING’</strong></div><p>For the projects she handled with Hernandez, Santos said she did not directly implement them and only allowed the engineer to use her contractor’s license.</p><p>She claimed it was Hernandez who prepared the bidding and financial documents for her, and that she relied on progress reports he provided to confirm that the projects were being implemented.</p><p>Santos revealed that of the 115 projects outside DPWH, she directly implemented 10 percent, while the rest were undertaken by private and government entities that also “used” her license.</p><p>Associate Justice Karl Miranda said her practice of <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/8/contractors-claim-dpwh-officials-involved-in-hiram-lisensiya-scheme-1849">lending her contracting license </a>constitutes a violation of contracting laws.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>COURT QUESTIONS CREDIBILITY</strong></div><p>When asked by the court if Santos had any dealings with Revilla and other accused DPWH officials, she said she had none.</p><p>Associate Justice Karl Miranda questioned Santos’ credibility as a witness, noting it was unusual that she only implicated Hernandez in the flood control case despite her involvement in numerous projects.</p><p>“We are very concerned with your credibility that you do not have any bias coming here. Dapat clear sa mind ko na you are not just shifting the blame to the accused and you’re not minimizing your role in this,” Miranda said.</p><p>The court also asked Santos if she was being threatened or coached in her testimony, which she denied.</p><p>Santos is under the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ALCANTARA TO TESTIFY</strong></div><p>Alcantara is set to testify in Revilla’s bail hearing on April 17.</p><p>He previously took the witness stand in the malversation trial of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co.</p><p>Meanwhile, the DPWH records custodian subpoenaed by the court complied with its order to submit documents related to a structure located near the reported site of the flood control project material to the case.</p><p>Associate Justice Ronald Moreno issued the subpoena on Tuesday after Kenneth Fernandez, officer-in-charge district engineer of the DPWH 1st District Engineering Office in Bulacan, claimed that accused DPWH Bulacan 1st district engineer Arjay Domasig brought them to a site that did not match the coordinates listed in the project detail matrix.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><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/wWchPtGljzY?&amp;pp=0gcJCdkKAYcqIYzv&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/O0A0xtdjIIo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>SYMS Construction owner Sally Santos claimed Wednesday she delivered around P400 million to former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez in one go, as part of her dealings in infrastructure projects from 2024 to 2025.</p>

SYMS Construction owner Sally Santos claimed Wednesday she delivered around P400 million to former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez in one go, as part of her dealings in infrastructure projects from 2024 to 2025.

Sally Santos testifies delivering P400 million to Hernandez in one go

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Sally Santos testifies delivering P400 million to Hernandez in one go

Kaxandra Salonga,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 08, 2026 03:25 PM PHT

|

Updated April 08, 2026 04:55 PM PHT

Read More:

Sandiganbayan

SYMS

DPWH

flood

Sally Santos

SYMS Construction

Brice Hernandez

flood control scandal

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