A former Public Works and Highways official on Thursday said 25 percent of the budget allocated for infrastructure projects in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) are given as ‘commitments’ to certain proponents, including senators.
This was according to former Public Works and Highways Regional Director Gerard Opulencia, who testified as a prosecution witness before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Thursday during the continuation of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s bail hearing for a plunder case.
‘Question 64 of your judicial affidavit states the method by which the commitment is computed. It states that a commitment is 25 percent of the GAA allocations for the projects your office submitted,’ the defense told the ex-official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), who confirmed the statement.
When Associate Justice Gener Gito asked how his office accounted for these commitments, Opulencia said they had a ‘strategy’ for adjusting government project budgets to accommodate them.
‘Before, in my time, we had a strategy on how we would adjust the program report. So, we will have an adjustment or allowance, where we add qualifications, to consider the commitments. There was a time that there was a 5 to 10-percent allowance,’ he said.
Opulencia also said contractors gave commitments as ‘pasasalamat’ or expressions of gratitude. He confirmed that a winning contractor was usually already identified even before a project was put out for bidding.
Despite his revelations, Opulencia told the court that he had never personally delivered commitments to a proponent or witnessed money being handed to Estrada or other accused DPWH officials.
Opulencia also confirmed to the defense that he previously instructed three district engineering offices to each prepare and deliver P120 million, for a total of P360 million, to be given to former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.
Opulencia said Bernardo had instructed him to collect the amount sometime last year, to be given as a ‘commitment’ to a proponent. Opulencia said he initially did not know who the money was for, but noted that Bernardo later revealed in his affidavit that the commitment was given to Estrada.
When asked by justices if he ever sought for a share of the commitments from the district engineering offices, Opulencia said never thought of making such a request because of the promotions he had received.
‘CASH FLOW’ FROM DPWH The Department of Justice receives P40 million in cash sent by Metro Manila Public Works Director Gerard Opulencia (second from right), part of the P150 million in alleged kickbacks that he vowed to return. Present at the turnover are Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida (5th and 6th from left), among other officials. (File photo from TETCH TORRES-TUPAS / INQUIRER.net)
‘Because, truthfully, with the gratitude for the promotions I received, I really just followed the instructions of Usec. Bernardo,’ he said.
After Opulencia, the prosecution also presented Vergel Nino Garcia, Bernardo’s former driver and aide, as a witness.
Garcia testified that he helped deliver 12 boxes to Estrada at the Atriaga building in San Juan City, although he did not know what these boxes contained.
According to Garcia, he personally saw Estrada during the delivery, whom he said was wearing leather shoes and a collared shirt.Aside from Estrada, Garcia said he also made deliveries to former Education Undersecretary Trygve Olaivar, former Sen. Bong Revilla, the now-deceased former DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral, former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and at a Cherry Mobile building.