Metro Manila, Philippines – Henry Alcantara, a dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer at the center of the flood control corruption scandal, is not recanting his earlier testimonies contrary to reports, his lawyer said.
“Recent claims circulating on various news outlets and from certain social media personalities alleging that former Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office Engineer Henry C. Alcantara has recanted his earlier testimony given during the hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, or statements in any other proceedings, are categorically false and misleading,” Emil Karlo Joven of the ELJ Law Office said in a statement.
“In short, Engr. Alcantara is not recanting his prior statements,” he added.
Joven said his client remains committed to cooperating with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in line with the memorandum of agreement for his application to the Witness Protection, Security, and Benefit Program.
Reports suggested that Alcantara had submitted a counter-affidavit denying his involvement in anomalous flood control projects, including facilitating kickbacks, contradicting his earlier admissions. However, the DOJ said it has not received any recantation from him, either verbal or written.
Alcantara has been detained at the Senate since September after being cited in contempt for allegedly lying or being evasive during the blue ribbon committee’s probe. He is among the so-called “BGC Boys,” or engineers from the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office who allegedly profited from ghost or anomalous flood control projects.
