Filtered by: Topstories

SYMS Construction Trading owner and manager Sally Santos named Thursday former Bulacan 1st district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez and construction division chief Jaypee Mendoza as the ones who could hurt her and her family.

During the continuation of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects, Senator Ronald dela Rosa asked Santos why was she apprehensive to answer questions.

“In the previous hearing you spoke very freely, very normally, very naturally, now I noticed that you have apprehensions, as if you are afraid. Is there someone intimidating you? Are you afraid of something? Why has your demeanor changed suddenly?” Dela Rosa said.

Santos replied that there were heavily-tinted vehicles circling their house.

“Because at my house there are many vehicles circling, we don’t know who is inside, the windows of the vehicles are tinted… for a long time we didn’t know who was inside, the vehicles were so heavily tinted,” she said.

Dela Rosa then asked who Santos thinks were doing it to her, to which the contractor replied: “The only ones who could do this to me are Engr. Brice and also Engr. Jaypee.”

Hernandez denied the allegation.

“No, I did not think of that,” he said when Dela Rosa asked him about the matter.

Earlier at the hearing, Santos from the Blue Ribbon committee.

“Mr. Chair, Your Honor, before I speak, can I ask for protection?” Santos asked.

“Just protection because I am afraid,” she added.

Santos previously to a Department of Public Works and Highways office in one day. She said she could have delivered up to P1 billion to the DPWH office from 2022 to the present.

Santos also said Hernandez ordered her to borrow contractors’ licenses for his projects.

Senate blue ribbon committee

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is a permanent investigative body in the Philippine Senate. It was formally established in 1992 to investigate alleged wrongdoing in government and any matter of public interest. Its history, however, traces back to earlier ad-hoc committees with similar investigative mandates.

Bulacan 1st district

The 1st District of Bulacan is a legislative district in the Philippines, primarily encompassing the highly urbanized City of Malolos. The area is historically significant as Malolos was the site of the First Philippine Republic and the Malolos Congress in 1898, following the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. Today, it is a major economic and cultural hub within the province.

Department of Public Works and Highways

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of national infrastructure, particularly highways, flood control, and public works. It was formally established in 1868 during the Spanish colonial period as the *Dirección General de Obras Públicas* and has evolved through various reorganizations, including a significant one in 1987. Its core mission is to provide and manage quality infrastructure facilities and services that are vital to the country’s sustainable development.

DPWH

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of national infrastructure. Its origins can be traced back to the Spanish colonial era, but it was formally organized under its current name in 1954. The agency is crucial for the country’s development, managing a vast network of roads, bridges, and public buildings.