Bernardo ‘returned what he had stolen’ – Gatchalian
MANILA, Philippines—Former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has returned the funds he allegedly stole from the government, according to Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian.
“First of all, Bernardo [made a] public apology; there’s remorse. Second, he returned the money he stole. Third, he’s here, he faced the problem. Just like the others applying to become a state witness, he’s here in the country. That’s a big difference,” Gatchalian said in an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday.
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Pressed if Bernardo had actually returned the alleged stolen funds, Gatchalian answered in the affirmative, saying a person’s bid to become a state witness includes restitution.
“At the very minimum, Mr. Bernardo is here in the Philippines; he did not run. I saw in his statement that he had remorse, or he was asking for forgiveness from the people. And he returned what he had stolen,” he said. “As far as I know, to become a state witness, that’s part of the memorandum of agreement that they need to sign—restitution. This means they will return, or at least pledge to return.”
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“I’m not saying that what he said was completely accurate. But at least there is a high possibility that what he said was true,” Gatchalian added.
Illogical claims
Gatchalian made the remarks after he was asked to compare the resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co with other witnesses.
He said Co’s video statements on budget insertion claims had inconsistencies that did not match in “common sense and logic.”
“This is my personal observation and analysis. There are things that, for me, did not match. If these are projects of the President, he should have placed these insertions in the NEP [National Expenditures Program] because NEP is the President’s budget. He would not have placed it in the bicam, which is the last phase of the budget process,” the senator said.
“When I saw the list of projects, there were some in Valenzuela City, and these are secondary roads, not highways, not national roads. Why would the President consider making insertions for small projects? And the local government unit (LGU) was not aware of these projects. It means these projects were not coordinated with the LGUs,” said Gatchalian, a former mayor of Valenzuela.
He also noted that among the projects mentioned by Co were those vetoed by the president.
“If the president was the one who made insertions for these projects, why would he veto them? It’s strange that what Zaldy Co was saying doesn’t match up,” Gatchalian said.
He said it would be better if Co would go home, face the authorities, take an oath, and show his sincerity.“Now that he’s abroad, it’s easier to say this and that, and then you vanish very quickly and suddenly without a trace. Then appear again after a month or two,” he said.
Gatchalian said sincerity is important, instead of riding the angry emotions of the people.
“And the timing of release, it’s puzzling, right? We all know that there is a rally today (Sunday)… sincerity is really important,” he said.
Co earlier claimed that President Marcos had received kickbacks equal to a quarter of the P100 billion in insertions for public works he allegedly ordered in the 2025 national budget.
“Some of these projects were vetoed by the President. These are big projects. So it’s surprising… You have them inserted, but you also vetoed them. It seems illogical,” Gatchalian said.
