MANILA— A Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer testified that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was not included in the list of proponents of flood control projects linked to an alleged multibillion-peso kickback scheme.

Engineer Carlo Rivera of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office confirmed this during the Sandiganbayan Third Division’s hearing on Romualdez’s bail petition in connection with a ₱7.4-billion plunder case.

When asked by Romualdez’s defense team whether the former speaker was excluded from the list of project proponents he prepared, Rivera answered in the affirmative.

Rivera, however, clarified that the names on the list were identified by his former superior, then Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara, who relayed the information to him.

The list included former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

Rivera testified that he collected at least ₱5 billion in commitment fees from contractors between 2022 and 2025, allegedly equivalent to 25% of the cost of infrastructure projects. He said the money was delivered to Alcantara, who then passed it on to Co for distribution to project proponents.

The engineer said the commitment fees were recorded under Co’s name, adding that he was responsible for contacting contractors to arrange the collections.

The amounts involved in the projects for which commitment fees were allegedly collected reached ₱519 million in 2022, ₱12.93 billion in 2023, ₱14.19 billion in 2024 and ₱7.385 billion in 2025.

Rivera said Alcantara assigned him to collect the payments and provided him with the contractors’ contact details.

He identified the contractors as Topnotch Catalyst Builders, ARL Builders, Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp. and SYMS Construction Trading.

Rivera said he dealt directly with Topnotch Catalyst Builders owner Eumir Villanueva. He identified contacts for the other firms as “Alex” for ARL Builders, “Jessica” for Wawao Builders and “Robert” for IM Construction Corp.

For SYMS Construction Trading, Rivera identified former DPWH Bulacan First District assistant engineer Brice Hernandez as his contact.

The engineer also described how he handled cash deliveries to Alcantara.

“Ii-store ko dun sa room [sa loob ng office ni Alcantara] and ire-relay ko kay D.E. [Alcantara] na delivered na,” he said.

Rivera frequently accompanied contractors delivering cash to Alcantara, according to his testimony.

Alcantara’s former personal assistant, Wirt Walter Rosales, previously testified that he helped Rivera count money received from contractors in a “secret room” inside Alcantara’s office before the cash was packed into plastic containers or suitcases for delivery to Co.

Rivera confirmed in court that black plastic containers presented by the prosecution were among those used to transport the money.

In a separate case involving Revilla, SYMS contractor Sally Santos previously testified that she lent her contractor’s license to Hernandez, who promised to implement projects.

Rivera was suspended from his post from September 2025 to March 2026 and is currently on floating status.