Sen. Jinggoy Estrada filed perjury complaints against former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez over his statements implicating the senator in the flood control anomalies.
Estrada filed four counts of perjury complaints against Hernandez before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, October 7.
‘Talagang makikita mo na habitual liar itong si Brice Hernandez,’ Estrada said. (You can truly see that Brice Hernandez is a habitual liar.)
The complaints filed by Estrada covered four specific allegations, which were said by Hernandez in his statements during congressional investigations.
One of these is Hernandez’s claim that Estrada allegedly received a 30% kickback from anomalous flood control projects.
Another complaint concerns the matter of Beng Ramos being claimed as a staff member of the senator.
The third complaint involves the fake ID allegedly used in Manila and other casinos.
The fourth complaint is about Hernandez’s denial of involvement in the flood control projects.
The complaint filed is under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code, which states:
‘Article 183. False testimony in other cases and perjury in solemn affirmation. – The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any person, who, knowingly makes untruthful statements and not being included in the provisions of the next preceding articles, shall testify under oath, or make an affidavit, upon any material matter before a competent person authorized to administer an oath in cases in which the law so requires.
Any person who, in case of a solemn affirmation made in lieu of an oath, shall commit any of the falsehoods mentioned in this and the three preceding articles of this section, shall suffer the respective penalties provided therein.’
On September 9, Hernandez implicated Estrada and Sen. Joel Villanueva, along with sacked public works district engineer Henry Alcantara and former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.
Hernandez alleged that Estrada received kickbacks in anomalous flood control projects worth P355 million in Bulacan, stating Estrada’s share of the proceeds was 30%.