Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday revealed he had decided on making Henry Alcantara and Sally Santos, two controversial figures in the flood control scandal, state witnesses.

“I was there, except for (Gerard) Opulencia that I didn’t… hindi ako nakapag-interfere. ‘Yung kay Sally Santos, tsaka ‘yung kay Henry Alcantara, kasama ako sa gumawa ng desisyong ‘yan,” he said during a press conference.

However, he also said that the rest of the “Bulacan Group of Contractors,” dubbed as the “BGC Boys,” cannot be state witnesses, and advised them against recanting statements made under oath.

“Hindi naman lahat, puwede mong gawing state witness, e. May mga bagay na dapat pag-aralan ng husto para maging state witness ang tao. And of course, ang principle mo diyan talagang fina-follow, not the most guilty,” Remulla explained in a press conference.

“E apparently, sa loob ng evaluation ng DOJ, mayroon silang pakiramdam na doon nga nakatuon, probably, they may be the most guilty, at least with regards to the ghost projects. Pag ginawa mo pang state witness iyan, sinong matitira? Wala ka nang pananagutin, pag lahat ginawa mong state witness,” he told reporters.

If given the opportunity, Remulla said he would like to tell them personally that recanting would not be favorable to their case, arguing this would only add to their problems.

“Nakalabas na lahat ‘yan. Mayroon na silang testimony sa Senate. Diba nag-testify na sila under oath. Babawiin mo ngayon ‘yan. Magdadagdag ka pa ng problema, e may problema ka na, diba. Baka naman they’re not well-advised,” said Remulla.

Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials Roberto Bernardo, Henry Alcantara, and Gerard Opulencia, along with contractor Sally Santos of SYMS Construction Trading have officially been made state witnesses by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday.