Discayas name solons in flood control mess
Contractor-spouses Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya have offered to turn state witnesses after they dropped a bombshell on Monday by naming several congressmen and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who allegedly demanded kickbacks of up to 25 percent after their firms won government-funded flood control projects.
Lawmakers, led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, have denied the allegations, which they said are false and malicious. (See story on Page A2.)
This developed as President Marcos on Monday said there will be no funding allocation for flood control projects in the proposed 2026 national budget.
In the course of the sweeping review of the DPWH’s proposed budget next year, the President said that “we are already seeing that all the flood control projects that were supposed to be included in the 2026 budget may no longer be necessary.”
“This does not mean we will stop the flood control projects,” he said, noting that there is still P350 billion for 2025 that has not been spent.
Mr. Marcos added that he is willing to sit down with the contractors to fix their poorly constructed projects and for them to shoulder all the expenses.
In the Senate hearing, the Discayas said they were offering to be state witnesses in order to expose the collusion between lawmakers and government agencies and officials.
“We are ready to testify voluntarily and disclose all anomalies,” said Pacifico.
The Discayas claimed that the officials forced them to join anomalous biddings and then asked for money in exchange for securing the projects.
“We have been repeatedly used by those in power in this system. We couldn’t do anything because if we do not cooperate, they will cause problems with the projects that [were] awarded to us through mutual termination or having a right-of-way problem, which may result in the halting of the project’s implementation,” Pacifico said in his testimony.
“After we [won] the bidding, some officials from the DPWH approach[ed] us to ask for their share of the cost of the project. They demanded a percentage not lower than 10 percent to as high as 25 percent, which was a condition so that the implementation of the program would not be affected,” he added.
He said that payments were made in cash and recorded in vouchers and ledgers showing the amounts, dates and recipients.
Pacifico claimed the staff of some politicians also asked for a percentage in exchange for the projects awarded to them.
He named Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo’s aide, Bogs Magalong, as the one who allegedly came to them to collect the money, either at their office or at a bar in Bonifacio Global City.
He claimed that most of the employees of the DPWH they mentioned repeatedly said that the money was for Rep. Zaldy Co, the former head of the House appropriations committee.
Rillo, meanwhile, mentioned the name of the House Speaker several times as his close friend, Pacifico added.
Lawmakers, DPWH execs
In their sworn statement, the Discayas identified several politicians and officials who allegedly benefited from the scheme. They are former undersecretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Terrence Calatrava; Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo; Uswag Ilonggo Rep. Jojo Ang; Quezon City Representatives Rillo, Patrick Michael Vargas, Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde and Marivic Co-Pilar; Agap Rep. Nicanor “Nikki” Briones; Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro; San Jose del Monte City Rep. Florida Robes; Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona; Laguna Rep. Benjamin Agarao Jr.; An-waray Rep. Florencio Gabriel Bem Noel; Occidental Mindoro Rep. Leody Tarriela; Quezon Rep. Reynante Arrogancia; Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco; Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Antonieta Yudela; and Caloocan City Rep. Dean Asistio.
The DPWH officials allegedly involved were regional director Virgilio Eduarte of Bicol; director Ramon Arriola III of Unified Project Management Offices; district engineers Henry Alcantara and Edgardo Pingol of Bulacan; Undersecretary Robert Bernardo; district engineers Aristotle Ramos of DPWH Metro Manila first district, Manny Bulusan of North Manila and Michael Rosaria of Quezon.
Return money first
The Discayas asked President Marcos and the Senate blue ribbon committee, chaired by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, for protection and security for their family.
Marcoleta assured the couple that protection will be provided for them.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla also gave assurance that the Department of Justice is prepared to fulfill its mandate to protect the couple—provided they are not “the most guilty,” Marcoleta added.
But Remulla clarified that they must first return the money they obtained through the anomalous and substandard flood control projects.
“The first principle we would use here is that if they obtained money that they should not have, they should return it to the Republic. That’s always our first condition,” Remulla said.
“You don’t walk off laughing at the system because you enriched yourself and got away with the crime,” he added.
Escaping conviction
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, who defeated Sarah Discaya in the local elections last May, also warned that the public must be vigilant and discerning as the Discayas are “capable of lying” to escape conviction.
“I noticed many inconsistencies in their statement,” Sotto said in a social media post on Monday.
He cited the claim that they earn only 2-3 percent—5 percent if, in their words, “lucky”— from the project contract costs.
The mayor said this was “just one of the most obvious lies,” pointing out that they cannot be the billionaire they claim to be if they earn a profit of only 2-3 percent.
Who would do “such a huge crime for a 2-3 percent profit,” Sotto asked, adding that the Discayas are clearly angling to become state witnesses so they don’t go to jail.
The Pasig City police office, meanwhile, has not received any formal request from the Discayas for security personnel, according to Pasig police chief Col. Hendrix Mangaldan. —WITH REPORTS FROM DEXTER CABALZA, JANE BAUTISTA, ZACARIAN SARAO, FAITH ARGOSINO AND KEITH CLORES
