After Discayas, Customs to go after other contractors
After the Discayas, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it would go after the other contractors named as having cornered a huge chunk of flood mitigation projects.
“First, we’ll look into the top 15 companies at the center of the investigation into flood control projects. And then, the other [personalities] being named in the investigations [will also be included],” BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno told reporters on Tuesday.
He said, however, this may take time, as the bureau could not simultaneously look into the other contractors.
Nepomuceno on Tuesday met with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to hand over its reports and records on the fleet of luxury cars owned by contractors Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya.
Among the submitted documents were import records, copies of search warrants and warrants of seizure and detention as well as enforcement and progress reports and other records related to the investigations, he said.
In August, President Marcos bared that P100 billion, representing the entire P545-billion budget for flood control work, went to only 15 construction firms from July 2022 to May 2025.
The BOC has already issued seizure orders on 13 of the 30 luxury cars owned by the Discayas. This could lead to forfeiture in favor of the government should the contractors fail to present appropriate records, Nepomuceno said.
Meeting with Mark Villar
Amid concerns over the conduct of its inquiry, the ICI said its hearing with Sen. Mark Villar on Tuesday “went well.”
Villar was summoned by the commission to discuss with them under oath the “planning, budgeting, execution, supervision and monitoring of flood control and other infrastructure projects,” during his watch as secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from 2016 to 2021. This covered almost the entire period of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson claimed in September that about P1 trillion for flood works may have been lost to graft since 2011. President Marcos also raised that matter in his State of the Nation Address on July 28 which triggered an investigation and public scrutiny over corruption in the DPWH over flood control projects.
“The senator just explained the processes he applied or used during the time that he was DPWH Sec, with regard to how he managed the department,” ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka told reporters.
‘Organic’ official
Asked about his relations with dismissed district engineer Henry Alcantara and retired Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Villar said Alcantara was an “organic” official of the DPWH.
“He’s been there [in much of his] career,” the senator said in a separate interview.
Also on Tuesday, Hosaka said the Discayas requested “a reset of seven days” for their hearing to allow more time to collect documents.
“They were asking for time for them to retrieve certain documents which the commission requested,” he said, adding “the next hearing would be set on Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.”
Hosaka declined to disclose what these documents were. “As long as we complete the case buildup then we will file the necessary recommendation and filings before the Office of the Ombudsman or any other government agency for that matter,” he said.
The Discaya couple first appeared before the ICI on Sept. 30.
No ‘whitewashing’
The commission also denied a lawmaker’s claim that one of its members plans to resign and is “losing hope” over the body’s limited authority.
“The ICI is united and continues to investigate in accordance with its mandate,” Hosaka said, disputing a privilege speech on Monday by Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice.
Hosaka maintained the ICI will not allow “any whitewashing” in its hearings amid calls by the Catholic Church that the commission uphold the integrity of its inquiry.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales had also expressed skepticism about the ICI’s conduct of its inquiry, saying that “the hearings [aren’t] supposed to be held in secrecy.”
“I don’t understand why because even the courts … are open to the public,” she said.
Hosaka said, “Evidence and testimonies received by the ICI must be verified as these might be false, and possibly given to mislead the investigation and even the public for whatever agenda by some people. The ICI will look for the truth.”
President Marcos established the ICI on Sept. 11 amid the widening corruption scandal over the government’s flood control projects.
