Three former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have been excluded from criminal cases linked to an alleged multi-billion-peso flood control anomaly after they were admitted into the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP), Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said on Thursday, May 28.

During a press briefing, Clavano confirmed that former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former DPWH-National Capital Region Director Gerard Opulencia, and former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara were formally excluded from the criminal informations filed before the anti-graft court.

“Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo, former NCR Regional Director Gerard P. Opulencia, and former Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara have been formally excluded from the criminal sets of information filed,” Clavano said.

He said the exclusion was made in view of their admission into the Department of Justice (DOJ) WPP under Republic Act 6981, adding that their sworn statements are now part of the prosecution’s evidence build-up.

Clavano also said that the statements submitted by the three witnesses mapped out how the alleged misuse of infrastructure funds was carried out, including the purported flow of illicit payments.

“I want to emphasize that this is very clear. Our case is built on solid, immovable evidence. These state witnesses have provided comprehensive, cross corroborated sworn statements that map out the execution of this scheme from its inception down to the logistics of the illicit payouts,” Clavano said.

The officials were previously charged alongside Senator Jinggoy Estrada in connection with plunder and graft complaints tied to flood control funds.

Among those originally charged was the late DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, but the case against her was dismissed due to her passing.

With their exclusion, prosecutors are expected to rely on their testimony in pursuing the remaining respondents in the case.