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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Mahina': Alcantara's legal defense for 'ghost' flood control projects won't hold water--Ridon

'Mahina': Alcantara's legal defense for 'ghost' flood control projects won't hold water--Ridon

Published Sep 3, 2025 11:55 pm

At A Glance

  • House Infrastructure Committee (infra comm) overall chairman, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon believes that Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Henry Alcantara's legal defense for signing off millions worth of public funds on "ghost" flood control projects won't hold water.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left), DPWH engineer Henry Alcantara (PPAB, YouTube)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left), DPWH engineer Henry Alcantara (PPAB, YouTube)


House Infrastructure Committee (infra comm) overall chairman, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon believes that Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Henry Alcantara's legal defense for signing off millions worth of public funds on "ghost" flood control projects won't hold water.
Speaking in a press conference Thursday, Sept. 3, Ridon says he totally rejects Alcantara’s admission of negligence.
"Negligence is going to be his defense in court and this is something that we rejected yesterday and we reject it today," Ridon said, a day removed from the infra comm hearing wherein the former Bulacan 1st district engineer (DE) repeatedly admitted to being remiss of his duties.
But Ridon, a lawyer, thinks Alcantara's actions as DE were "intentional". "District Engineer Alcantara intentionally defrauded government in not implementing the Baliuag-Bulacan ghost project."
The party-list lawmaker was referring to the non-existent, "completed" construction of a reinforced concrete river wall at Barangay Piel in Baliuag, Bulacan. This was a P55.7-million contract between the DPWH Bulacan 1st Engineering District and contractor SYMS Construction Trading.
President Marcos was incensed after personally discovering the ghost project late last month.
In Wednesday's infra comm hearing, Alcantara told solons that he, too, was angry after learning of the project's true status.
He admitted to signing certificates of completion for projects based solely on the validation of his inspection team, and not on details gathered by his own eyeballs.
Ridon says Alcantara's position as head honcho in the district makes passing on the blame to his subordinates a tough sell.
"Obviously yung negligence po, hindi yun totoo eh. Ikaw yung head of agency, ikaw yung boss ng opisina, hindi ho ba? (Oblivious the negligence part isn't true. You're the head of the agency, you're the boss of the office, aren't you?) So you cannot pin the staff down, you cannot pin the ordinary employee down. It was you who was the boss in the district engineering office. Wala hong iba (Nobody else)," he said.
"Ang huling pirma ay kay district engineer Henry Alcantara. So meron ho siyang aktual, direktang, mabigat na pananugutan dito po sa ghost project po na ito sa Baliuag, Bulacan (The final signature is from district engineer Henry Alcantara. So he has actual, direct, and grave liability with the ghost project in Baliuag, Bulacan)," underscored Ridon.
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