Dismissed Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara has returned around ₱110 million in cash to the government, Justice Acting Secretary Fredderick Vida said. Vida confirmed that representatives from the Bureau of the Treasury and Land Bank of the Philippines were present to verify the amount. Vida also said that former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has also been provisionally admitted into the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program (WPP). Vida stated that Bernardo committed to returning over ₱7 million through bank accounts he assigned to the DOJ, though the funds remain under processing by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. Vida also agreed with Senator Panfilo Lacson’s earlier statement that Bernardo should return roughly ₱1 billion. He clarified that Alcantara’s discharge from criminal liability applies only to cases related to the funds he has returned. "The DOJ does not give blanket immunity," he said. He added that the DOJ prefers restitution to be made in cash. "If we discover any other information that he has not disclosed, he will still be held accountable." Vida described the turnover as part of Alcantara’s restitution, noting that the former official committed to return a total of about ₱300 million allegedly obtained from anomalous flood control projects. According to Vida, a DOJ panel is currently evaluating Alcantara’s statements to determine the appropriate restitution amount. "When he says he delivered, for example, ₱1 billion, and he earned 2% from that, that’s what we base the restitution on," he explained, adding that the panel assesses whether the statements are credible. Restitution is among the conditions required for individuals involved in flood control fund corruption to be considered for admission into the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
