Christmas in the Senate: Curlee Discaya, former DPWH engineers denied furlough

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has denied holiday furlough for contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and three former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers implicated in the flood control scandal.

Sen. Ping Lacson, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said temporarily releasing them on Christmas may only provide an opportunity for them to escape accountability and expected arrests. 

“So the risk of escape becomes greater — not to mention that it makes no sense to grant such requests for Christmas leave if indeed warrants are coming out by then,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, December 23.

Lacson cited the repeated pronouncements of Ombudsman Boying Remulla and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos that arrest warrants would be out ahead of Christmas. 

Senate President Tito Sotto took his recommendation, effectively denying the leave requests of Discaya, as well as Bulacan district and assistant district engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza. 

The four have been detained under the Senate’s custody since the blue ribbon committee cited them in contempt for seemingly refusing to cooperate in the investigation into anomalous flood control projects.

Alcantara, Hernandez and Mendoza testified before the Senate how substandard and ghost infrastructure projects in Bulacan’s First District were marred with kickbacks from budget insertions allegedly made by lawmakers and former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. 

They implicated Sens. Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, former Sen. Bong Revilla and resigned Rep. Elizaldy Co. The former DPWH engineers admitted to preparing and delivering the commissions themselves. 

After committing to return stolen assets and giving detailed testimonies under a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Justice, they were provisionally accepted into the Witness Protection Program.

Sotto clarified that while the four will stay in Senate custody, they may attend Mass and have family visits, but cannot leave the chamber’s grounds.

“That’s the most that we can allow given the circumstances,” Lacson said, hoping Remulla lives up to his promise that charges will be filed on time before the Sandiganbayan.

So far, only Sarah Discaya, wife of Curlee, has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation. She surrendered on December 9 and was formally arrested on December 18. She is now detained in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, pending arraignment.

Sarah faces multiple criminal cases, including malversation through falsification of public documents and tax evasion. 

As for her detained husband, who confessed to paying kickbacks through the flood control projects their family business had secured, no cases have been filed yet.

Lacson said that the swift and certain filing of cases against public officials found with probable cause for pocketing or misusing public funds should “strike fear,” particularly among lawmakers who have maintained pork-like allocations and insertions in the budget despite attempts to get rid of them.