SYMS contractor returns P20M to gov’t, DoJ says

CONTRACTOR Sally N. Santos, owner of the blacklisted SYMS Construction Trading, has turned over a total of P20 million in cash as part of her commitment to the restitution process, the Department of Justice (DoJ) confirmed on Tuesday.

According to Justice spokesperson Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez, Ms. Santos previously returned P5 million on Dec. 4, and an additional P15 million on Monday, bringing the total to P20 million.

“The final amount to be surrendered will be equivalent to the royalty fees Sally Santos received from the Hiram Lisensya scheme,” Mr. Martinez said.

SYMS Construction Trading was barred from public contracts following investigations into fraudulent infrastructure projects. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) imposed a perpetual lifetime ban on the firm in September, preventing it from bidding on government projects indefinitely.

While cooperating with authorities, Ms. Santos remains a respondent in multiple ongoing cases, facing criminal charges under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) and for malversation of public funds, with the DoJ currently prosecuting five active cases linked to flood control projects in Bulacan.

A suspect-turned-whistleblower, Ms. Santos made several admissions during Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, including lending her company’s construction licenses to Public Works engineers in Bulacan, namely Brice Ericson D. Hernandez and Jaypee D. Mendoza, to facilitate ghost and substandard projects in exchange for a 3% royalty fee.

She also testified to delivering up to P245 million in cash in a single day to DPWH offices, often transported in instant noodle boxes and estimated that total kickbacks to officials may have exceeded P1 billion since 2022.

Ms. Santos claimed she was coerced by government engineers into participating in the scheme to ensure her firm remained eligible for future contracts.

Following Senate protective custody in September, she agreed to a memorandum with the Justice department concerning flood control project investigations, with her conditional cooperation and restitution. She was provisionally admitted to the witness protection program.

The cash she turned over on Monday has been placed at the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, the DoJ said. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking