State witness and contractor Sally Santos says Hernandez allegedly secured 42 tasks via SYMS, amounting to round P1.8 billion
MANILA, Philippines – State witness and SYMS contractor Sally Santos confirmed on Wednesday, April 8, that she had allegedly delivered roughly P1.72 billion to former Division of Public Works and Highways (DPHW) assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez for flood management tasks.
Santos answered “sure” when requested by Sandiganbayan third Division member Affiliate Justice Ronald Moreno if she had delivered the mentioned quantity to Hernandez.
The anti-graft courtroom division is holding a sequence of hearings for the bail petition of former senator Bong Revilla and former DPWH officers over their malversation case that stemmed from a P92.8-million ghost flood management challenge in Bulacan. They face a separate graft case with the 4th Division, however this case is bailable, so Revilla and others had been in a position to publish bail.
Through the Senate investigation in 2025, Santos confirmed that a few of the DPWH tasks that went to her agency had been truly in-house tasks of engineers equivalent to Hernandez.
She mentioned she had solely lent her license for these tasks, and the funds as a substitute went to some DPWH engineers. In keeping with Santos, she would cost a 3% reduce for lending her license after which give the remainder of the cash to whoever borrowed her license.
Through the bail listening to, Santos expounded on her testimony and mentioned it was Hernandez who had allegedly urged her to determine a building agency. It was in 2024, in line with the state witness, when she began lending her license to Hernandez.
Santos mentioned Hernandez had allegedly secured 42 tasks via SYMS, amounting to round P1.8 billion. For this scheme, Santos mentioned she had earned P86 million for herself.
The state witness mentioned that earlier than she withdrew the cash, she would name the financial institution upfront. As soon as the cash was accessible, she would spend 5 hours earlier than getting the cash.
The cash, positioned in packing containers, would then be delivered to Hernandez, who would personally obtain it, in line with Santos.
In the meantime, Santos additionally mentioned in essence that the bidding course of for the DPWH tasks she acquired was rigged: “Halimbawa, might ibi-bid na challenge, sakin niya sinasabi, binibigay. Tapos nagbi-bid po ako (For instance, if there’s a challenge up for bidding, he would inform me and provides it to me. Then I might bid).
SYMS’ enterprise mannequin
Santos mentioned she had lent her license to Hernandez as a result of she trusted her. She mentioned she didn’t know that the infrastructure would transform ghost tasks.
“Each time na nagtatanong ako sa kanya (Hernandez), sinasabi niya walang problema (Each time I requested him for updates, he mentioned all the things was alright),” the state witness advised the courtroom.
Through the bail listening to, it was revealed that SYMS had secured 157 tasks from the federal government since 2021. At the very least 42 of those 157 had been below Hernandez, leaving the contractor with 115 tasks.
However in line with Santos, solely 10% of the 115 tasks (round 11 tasks) truly went to her — the remainder went to different people who borrowed her license.
Other than Hernandez, there have been additionally different individuals from the federal government and personal sector who had allegedly borrowed her license. Identical in Hernandez’s case, she charged 3% from these contracts.
The division chairperson, Affiliate Justice Karl Miranda, nonetheless, reminded Santos that lending a contractor’s license is a violation of the regulation. Santos is already a state witness, so she enjoys authorized immunity from the flood management circumstances.
Issues over Santos’ credibility
Santos, throughout cross-examination with the protection and conversations with justices, struggled to reply questions coherently. Particularly, the state witness mentioned she couldn’t bear in mind some particulars about her dealings with Hernandez.
Even with questions on bonds associated to her tasks as a contractor, Santos discovered it onerous to reply with conviction.
“The courtroom is worried about your credibility,” Miranda advised Santos.
Moreno additionally reminded Santos to watch out along with her solutions as a result of they may have an effect on her credibility, and the courtroom may misconstrue that she has selective reminiscence. However for the prosecution, questions on state witnesses’ credibility are inherently regular in proceedings.
“That’s pure. The explanation why she turned a state witness is as a result of she’s concerned within the crime…. They’re in the most effective place to testify {that a} crime was dedicated,” the prosecutors advised reporters after the Wednesday listening to. – Rappler.com
