Lacson: Villanueva, Estrada not cleared on P1B budget insertion allegations

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson confirmed that Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada have not been cleared regarding allegations of questionable budget insertions totaling nearly P1 billion.

Sacked DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez accused Villanueva and Estrada of padding the budget, claiming kickbacks from their respective Bulacan flood control projects, with P600 million linked to Villanueva in 2023 and P355 million to Estrada in 2025.

Villanueva denied the allegation, stating the P600 million was reflected in documents from the 2023 GAA under the Unprogrammed Fund with separate entries, and challenged Hernandez to find specific line items.

Estrada and Villanueva have both vehemently denied the allegations and offered to open their bank accounts to prove their innocence.

Lacson stated that the budget books validate Hernandez's allegations, especially in Estrada's case, after giving the senators ample time to defend themselves and confront their accuser.