MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson clarified that Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada have not been cleared of allegations linking them to multimillion-peso budget insertions in infrastructure projects in Bulacan.

Lacson said allowing the two lawmakers to face their accuser, engineer Brice Hernandez, during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing does not amount to exoneration.

“By any measure, Senators Villanueva and Estrada have not been cleared, at least on the issue of budget insertions involving infrastructure projects in Bulacan worth P600 million and P355 million respectively, as alleged by Engr. Brice Hernandez,” Lacson posted on X.

During the hearing, Lacson said the P600 million in alleged flood control projects linked to Villanueva was found under the Unprogrammed Fund in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Hernandez earlier claimed the projects were tied to the senator, but Villanueva denied the allegation.

Lacson added that his office found P355 million worth of infrastructure projects in the 2025 GAA connected to Estrada, who also denied Hernandez’s claim.

The Senate leader reminded Hernandez to avoid “selective memory” when testifying. “If you promise to tell the truth, it must be the whole truth, not what’s convenient for you,” he said.

Lacson stressed that while the two senators were allowed to participate in the hearing as part of their right to face their accuser, the budget records validate Hernandez’s allegations, at least in Estrada’s case.

“On the other hand, the two senators have not been cleared of the budget insertions under the 2023 and 2025 GAAs. I made that very clear today,” Lacson said.