and Grace Poe (Photos from BIBO NUEVA ESPAÑA / Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines – Former Senators Nancy Binay and Grace Poe have also allegedly received ‘commitments’ or kickbacks from flood control projects.
State witness and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo gave this testimony to the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Thursday.
Bernardo made the revelation while testifying during former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s bail hearing for plunder over reported kickbacks worth P7.44 billion.
The former DPWH official alleged that Binay requested 12 to 15 percent ‘commitments’ or kickbacks.
In his written judicial affidavit cited by Romualdez’s lawyer Thea Daep, Bernardo said Binay was said to have gotten P1.8 billion worth of project cost from him, in exchange of 3 percent kickback.
When Daep asked whether the 3 percent kickback he received from P1.8 billion amounts to around P54 million, Bernardo said it is ‘mathematically’ correct.
Also, Bernardo said Poe got a 20 percent ‘commitment’ from flood control projects.
Poe was also mentioned in Bernardo’s written judicial affidavit, which was not immediately available to the media.
Inquirer sought comment from Binay and Poe, but they have yet to respond as of posting. The Inquirer will publish their side once they become available.
Bernardo has also mentioned again the names of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former Sen. Bong Revilla in his judicial affidavit for the plunder case of Romualdez.
He has already testified against Estrada and Revilla, who face plunder and malversation cases before the Sandiganbayan.
Bernardo said it was either the senators or their staff who allegedly asked for his help for the inclusion of their projects in the DPWH list for funding.
‘They were the ones approaching me to ask for help,’ he recalled.
Asked for specifics, Bernardo said: ‘Revilla, Jinggoy, [and] the staff of Grace Poe.’
Bernardo noted that he already mentioned the names of these senators when he testified in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Nov. 14, 2025.
Initially, he said he thought that the senators he had alleged dealings with would ‘help’ him once he testified before the Senate, but they did not.
‘When I was summoned and could tell the truth, I expect that they don’t want to be affected by what happens so they would help me,’ Bernardo said. ‘That was what I expected.’
When the ‘help’ he anticipated did not arrive, Bernardo said it became one of the reasons why he decided to cooperate with the government.
‘Initially it was,’ Bernardo said when Daep asked him if the absence of their help became the reason for his state witness bid.
‘But when I heard of the ghost project, I was bothered by my conscience,’ the witness also said, noting that he had no idea that such a scheme existed.
‘When I learned about ghost projects, I could not bear it anymore because for me, it had to stop,’ he told the anti-graft court.