Seized Discaya cars now at 28; protesters deface firm’s facade

RAGE AGAINST THE ROT A group of flood survivors and environmental advocates, among them members of Kalikasan, held a protest outside St. Gerrard Construction's office building in Pasig City on Thursday, pelting the property with mud and rocks. They also spray-painted "magnanakaw" (thief) and "ikulong" (jail them) on the gate and walls while calling for the conviction of the owners, couple Pacifico "Curlee" and Cezarah "Sarah" Discaya, and accountable public officials for enriching themselves allegedly through anomalous flood control projects. —PHOTOS BY NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Twenty-eight luxury cars owned by the family of contractor Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya are now under the custody of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the agency announced on Thursday.

The BOC said that Pacifico and Sarah Discaya, among the contractors named as having bagged multi-billion flood control projects from the government, “surrendered” 16 vehicles on Thursday.

These were in addition to the 12 vehicles that were secured by the agency last Tuesday through a search warrant served at the compound of St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor and Development Corp. in Pasig City, one of the nine construction companies owned or controlled by the Discayas.

No confiscation yet

“The 16 vehicles are now undergoing processing by the BOC for sealing and documentation and will be guarded by customs personnel, pending verification of importation records and assessment of duties and taxes,” the BOC said in a statement.

BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said the agency would continue its investigation into the luxury cars with the help of the Land Transportation Office.

However, he had earlier clarified that the BOC will not proceed with confiscating the 28 vehicles yet. The cars will be returned to the Discayas once these are proven to have been legitimately purchased with authentic supporting documents and all tax liabilities settled.

The new batch of vehicles up for investigation are four variants of Mercedes-Benz (GLE, GLS 350, Sprinter and Avant); three units of Land Rover Range Rover (Defender, LWB and Evo-F); Cadillac Escalade ESV; Ford Bronco, BMW X5 30D; Jaguar F-Pace 2.0D; Porsche Cayenne V6; Volvo XC90, Yukon Denali; and two units of an all-terrain vehicle.

Should the cars in question be proven as smuggled or imported without appropriate taxes, Nepomuceno said customs agents who may have had a role in the scheme would also face sanctions.

Office stoned, defaced

Meanwhile, a group called “People Surge National Alliance of Disaster Survivors and Victims,” composed of flood survivors and environmental groups such as Kalikasan, held a protest in front of the headquarters of St. Gerrard Construction in Pasig City on Thursday morning.

They pelted the property with mud and rocks, and spray-painted “magnanakaw” (thief) and “ikulong” (jail them) on the office gate and walls.

The protesters called for the conviction of the Discaya couple for their alleged involvement in anomalous flood control projects.

The location of the St. Gerrard Construction compound in Barangay Bambang, where the Discaya family also resides, had earlier been publicly identified when footage of BOC personnel carrying out the search warrant on the Discaya properties in Pasig City was aired on TV and social media.

SIDE COMMENT One of the protesters outraged by the allegations against the Discayas leaves her mark also on the perimeter wall of St. Gerrard Construction’s office complex on F. Manalo Street, Pasig City, spraying “Kurakot!” (corruption) on the glass panels. —PHOTOS BY NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

‘Very scared’

In response to the protest, the Discaya family, through their lawyer Cornelio Samaniego III, threatened to file criminal charges against the protest organizers, saying they were “collating evidence based on CCTV.”

“The spouses Discaya are very scared, their children are very traumatized, their relatives, too, are very scared of what’s happening,” Samaniego told the media in Filipino.

The lawyer also called on Philippine National Police acting chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. to protect his clients, citing the PNP’s mandate to protect any aggrieved citizen.

“This is not just about the Discayas. This is also about the surrounding community, the other innocent people, that will also be affected by the careless actions of these groups,” said Samaniego.

Palace: Calm down

Following the protest, Malacañang called for calm and cautioned against resorting to disorder.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said President Marcos does not want public anger to escalate into unrest similar to the protests in Indonesia that have led to looting and destruction of property.

“The President himself said that we are following due process. The ongoing investigations into flood control projects conducted by the President are being carried out for the benefit of the people,” Castro said in a Palace briefing.

“He does not want unrest to happen because of false information being used to inflame the anger of Filipinos,” she added.