The Department of Justice on Tuesday said state witness and former Department of Public Works and Highways district engineer Henry Alcantara will still be available to appear before the Senate and any government body requiring his presence once he is placed under the custody of the government’s witness protection program.

Speaking to reporters, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida says part of the commitment of a state witness is to cooperate fully with government offices.

“Whenever a particular agency, in this case the Senate, they can always request (that the witness appear) isa yan sa (that is one of the) commitment ng state witness of the WPP, to make themselves available for any legal purpose and in pursuit of the mandate of either by the Senate or the executive,” Vida said.

Vida reiterated that “arrangements will have to be made” and a formal request for Alcantara’s transfer to the WPP from the Senate will be made shortly. “We dont want to preempt, due to security concerns,” the official said.

Alcantara is expected to give crucial testimony on hundreds of millions of pesos worth of “ghost” flood control projects in the province.

‘Misplaced’ remark

Meanwhile, Ombudsman spokesperson Mico Clavano on Tuesday says contractor Pacifico “ Curlee” Discaya’s description of restitution as “robbery” is misplaced.

“Nang mawala ang pera para sa flood control, hindi lang pondo ang nawala, kaligtasan ng mga Pilipino ang nawala. (When funds for the flood control disappeared, the general public was put in danger),” Clavano said in reaction to Discaya’s testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday.

“Kaya mali at malaking kalokohan na tawaging ‘pagnanakaw’ ang pagbabalik ng ninakaw. Ang taumbayan ang unang ninakawan. Ang pagsauli ng pera ng gobyerno ay hindi pangingikil; ito ay pananagutan (It is wrong and nonsense to say that returning stolen money is robbery. The Filipino people were the ones robbed and returning the sum to the government is not extortion but accountability)” Clavano added.

The DOJ on Tuesday also heard the second batch of cases against Wawao Builders and Topnotch Catalyst Inc., two firms implicated in a number of fraudulent projects involving former party-list lawmaker Zaldy Co.

Co, who served as former House Appropriations Committee chairperson from July 2022 to January 2025, is facing graft, malversation and falsification of public documents charges over the construction of an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. He left the Philippines in mid-2025 for a supposed medical treatment and has not returned since. Authorities believe he is traveling using a Portuguese passport. (PNA)