Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon – Photo courtesy of Terry Ridon/Facebook
Bicol-Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Saturday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to clarify why former Bulacan First District engineers Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza were left out of the list of state witnesses in the flood control project probe.
The DOJ recently announced those granted state witness status, excluding Hernandez and Mendoza after a preliminary screening reportedly found they “did not qualify” for inclusion.
Ridon questioned the decision, noting that DPWH Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara was accepted as a state witness despite his higher level of accountability.
He said clarification is “critical” to determine whether Hernandez and Mendoza are still under consideration or permanently excluded, warning that selective accountability would be unacceptable.
The lawmaker emphasized that Hernandez and Mendoza were among the first to expose alleged corruption in the DPWH First District Engineering Office and described them as “spearheads” of the controversy.
Justice Secretary Frederick Vida confirmed that Alcantara and former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo were granted provisional acceptance under the Witness Protection Program, along with Gerard Opulencia and contractor Sally Santos, who are expected to receive immunity from criminal liability.
Despite their provisional status, Hernandez and Mendoza remain respondents in cases of malversation, graft, and falsification of public documents tied to the flood control projects, Ridon said.