How a contractor was able to withdraw hundreds of millions of pesos in cash from LandBank
Sally Santos, the owner of top government contractor SYMS Construction Trading, confirmed that she was able to withdraw hundreds of millions of pesos in ghost flood control project funds from the Malolos branch of LandBank within two days.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, Sept. 26, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan asked whether Santos withdrew tens of millions in past transactions amid the corruption scandal involving the Department of Public Works and Highways.
"May withdrawal po akong P457 (million)," Santos said. "Cash po, nirequest ko po."
Pangilinan asked how the bank allowed her to withdraw that amount in cash, and she responded, "Sa LandBank naman po 'yun."
Pangilinan then called LandBank Malolos Highway Branch Head Ma. Lilibeth Lim, who was in the audience, to join the hearing for questioning.
Santos explained that she asks for Lim's permission, and that the money wasn't immediately released.
"Nagpapaalam naman po ako, na may withdrawal akong ganun. Di naman po 'yun agad-agad ibibigay. May mga araw na sasabihin, kinukuha pa raw nila sa iba (branch)," she said.
Santos also noted that sometimes, she makes withdrawals worth half a million, P150 million, or P200 million.
Pangilinan then asked why Lim didn't view the P457 million withdrawal as a red flag and didn't report it to the authorities.
"Once the transaction is more than P500,000, it will be automatically captured by the system and be reported as a covered transaction report," Lim said.
Pangilinan pressed Lim, asking why they didn't know who their customers were, especially with the amount involved.
"We have due diligence and KYC (know your customer) upon opening of the account," she said.
Pangilinan was dissatisfied and sought more explanation from Lim, but she invoked the bank secrecy law. He asked Santos whether she can waive her rights, and she agreed.
As Lim was signing the waiver, Committee Chairman Sen. Ping Lacson noted that they have a copy of the ledgers, which show that a withdrawal totaling P457 million was made twice, on March 24, 2025, and on July 3, 2025.
Lacson said that according to Santos's testimony, the money was delivered to dismissed Bulacan district engineer Brice Hernandez. There are also withdrawals amounting to P180 million, P141 million, P299 million, and P65 million—all in cash.
Pangilinan wondered why they weren't in check.
"Bakit walang patakaran ang bangko na, 'Teka nga muna,'" he said. "Kasi kapag tseke, may paper trail. Kaya cash?"
"Government bank ito at, most likely, alam ninyong government funds ang ibinabayad doon sa kliyente ninyo," he added.
Lim, who had already signed the waiver by then, detailed the process of how the amount was credited to Santos's account.
"The funds came from the notice of cash allocation from the Department of Budget and Management. Then it goes to LandBank DPWH Central Office account. Then [from] the [DPWH] Head Office, [it is] maintained with [DPWH] South Harbor. Then the [DPWH] South Harbor will issue a notice of cash allocation intended for the DPWH Bulacan 1st Engineering District Office," she said.
"Upon receipt of the [DPWH] Bulacan 1st Engineering District Office, they will issue an advice of checks issued and canceled," she said. Upon the issuance of an ACIC, the amount cannot be withdrawn for 24 hours, as the Bureau of Treasury will inspect it first.
"After 24 hours, the following day, they will issue the list of due and demandable accounts payable-advice to debit account (LDDAP-ADA). They will send us that, and LandBank will process it through the financial system. Then, upon uploading, it will automatically credit the different accounts of the passbook of different contractors," she said.
Lim noted that it's not necessarily a one-time credit to Santos's account, as they could've been from different LDDAP-ADAs.
However, Pangilinan was asking not about the source of the money but rather Santos's capability to withdraw almost half a billion pesos within two days.
“Hindi kayo nagtaka bakit cash, bakit P457 million, at bakit dalawang araw?” he said.
Lim replied, “Hindi po kasi ako magtataka or mag-iisip ng negative since the funding is coming from the government and the DPWH. Knowing it’s for the projects, di po talaga ako nagtaka."
Pangilinan didn't buy it, noting it's "common sense" that huge transactions are done via check and nobody withdraws that much cash. He noted that it's hard to believe that a bank manager like Lim wouldn't wonder about government funds worth half a billion being taken within two days.
LandBank Legal Officer Rafael Yap chimed in, saying that under the Anti-Money Laundering Council, suspicious or covered transaction reports are considered confidential, and they cannot divulge information concerning such reports.
The DPWH on Wednesday, Sept. 24, said it has asked the AMLC to freeze about P500 million worth of luxury vehicles of 26 contractors and employees who are allegedly involved in anomalous flood control projects.
AMLC Executive Director Matthew David also previously announced that the Court of Appeals has issued the freeze order to 135 bank accounts and 25 insurance policies to some of the personalities.
