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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Witness in House flood control projects probe receives death threats during hearing

Witness in House flood control projects probe receives death threats during hearing

Published Sep 9, 2025 02:59 pm
A witness in the House Infrastructure Committee (infra comm) hearing admitted to receiving deaths threats on his mobile phone in the middle of the joint panel's hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 9 into the alleged anomalous and "ghost" flood control projects.
JP Mendoza, a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer from the district office in Bulacan, said he received a call from a Viber user named "hitman" before he was set to talk at the infra comm hearing.
Mendoza said it was the same Viber user who sent him a death threat last Sep. 1.
“Last Sept. 1 po, may nag-message sa Viber, ang naka-name ay ‘Hitman'. Tapos ngayon po, bago ako magsalita, tumatawag na naman siya (Someone named 'Hitman' messaged me on Viber last Sept. 1. And now, before I spoke, he tried to call me again),” he said.
During the House hearing, Mendoza presented photos of supposed Viber message exchanges between Senator Joel Villanueva and former DPWH Bulacan 1st district engineer Henry Alcantara.
Villanueva, in a privilege speech, denied Mendoza's allegation. He said he was ready to take part in the investigation.
Mendoza also supported the testimony of his first district engineering colleague, former assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, who linked not only Villanueva but also Senator Jinggoy Estrada to flood control projects in Bulacan amounting to almost P1 billion.
Estrada, in a press conference, denied claims made by Hernandez and challenged him to take a lie detector test.
Mendoza's revelation came as Curlee Discaya, the contractor who secured the biggest flood control projects from the government, said in a Senate hearing on Monday, Sep. 8, that there was no senator involved in the anomalies.
Mendoza then sought protection from the House of Representatives amid the security concerns.
“Kung baga sana, ‘yung ina-ask ko po na security ay asap na po sana sir…puwede pong masama din rin ‘yung family ko po (I hope the security protection that I'm requesting will be granted as soon as possible. And if possible, my family will also be covered),” he said.
Infra Comm overall chairman, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon acknowledged the death threats being received by Mendoza and put them on record.
“It is something the committee is taking seriously. We will discuss it as soon as we end this meeting,” Ridon said.
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