(UPDATE) THE Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday ordered the detention of contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II after citing him in contempt for giving conflicting statements about why his wife, Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya, failed to attend the chamber’s probe into alleged multibillion-peso ghost flood control projects.
The confrontation unfolded when Senate President Vicente Sotto III pressed Curlee to explain Sarah’s absence. At first, the contractor said his wife had sent an excuse letter stating she could not attend “due to valid reasons.” Prodded further by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, he claimed she was suffering from a heart condition.
But when the committee read Sarah’s letter aloud, her explanation clashed with her husband’s testimony. In the letter, Sarah said she could not appear because she had a scheduled meeting with employees to discuss company problems, which coincided with the Senate hearing.
“This meeting was already scheduled before I received the Honorable Committee’s invitation this late afternoon… I can no longer cancel the meeting,” the letter read.
The inconsistency provoked anger among senators. Sen. Francis Pangilinan remarked, “Mr. Chairman, with that letter, Mr. Discaya is lying about his wife having an illness.”
Sen. Erwin Tulfo scolded the contractor: “You’re disrespecting us, you’re deceiving us. Don’t fool us because the chairman has the authority to hold you in contempt. Don’t do that… You lied, you lied. How can we still believe what you’re saying?”
Faced with mounting criticism, Curlee attempted to clarify, saying his wife also suffered from diabetes and hypertension, and was on maintenance medication. He apologized to the committee, claiming he had not intended to mislead them.
But committee chairman Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said the explanations were irreconcilable and moved to cite Curlee in contempt for lying under oath. With no objections, the ruling was approved.
Discaya will remain in the Senate detention facility until the contempt order is lifted. The committee also issued a show-cause order to Sarah, requiring her to explain why she should not be similarly cited.
The action against Discaya came on the heels of similar contempt citations in the same investigation. On Sept. 8, former Bulacan district engineer Brice Hernandez was cited in contempt for refusing to cooperate. Hernandez was initially held at the Senate, later transferred to the Pasay City Jail, and eventually returned to Senate custody.
On Thursday, senators also cited another former Bulacan district engineer, Henry Alcantara, after he repeatedly denied knowledge of ghost projects under his jurisdiction.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo challenged Alcantara’s denials, pointing out that as district engineer, he was responsible for signing off on projects and budgets.
“You’re the district engineer, yet you don’t know there are ghost projects? You also claim you don’t know why your budget ballooned. Doesn’t that pass through your desk, where you sign off on your own funding?” Tulfo asked.
Alcantara maintained that his office merely submitted a “wish list” of projects to the regional office, which then forwarded the list to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) central office. He denied involvement in budget insertions.
Thursday’s session was Lacson’s first day presiding over the Blue Ribbon Committee after taking over from Sen. Rodante Marcoleta. The probe forms part of the Senate’s broader investigation into alleged ghost projects and questionable budget allocations under the DPWH.
Senate protection
At the same hearing, the panel granted protective custody to SYMS Construction Trading owner and manager Sally Santos after she sought security “out of fear” while testifying.
At the hearing, Santos asked Lacson to ensure her safety before she shared details about her dealings with DPWH officials.
Lacson approved the request but warned that protection would be withdrawn if Santos was later found to be lying under oath. Santos agreed to the condition.
Pressed by Sen. JV Ejercito, Santos recounted how her construction license was allegedly misused by former Bulacan 1st District assistant engineer Brice Hernandez and former construction division chief Jaypee Mendoza.
“Actually, your honor, I didn’t know that engineer Brice and Jaypee Mendoza would do that because, of course, they were DPWH personnel. I believed they would not do such a thing. They forced me to give up my license,” she testified.
Santos had previously admitted that she personally delivered about P245 million in cash to a DPWH office in a single day. She added that the total amount she may have delivered since 2022 could have reached as much as P1 billion.
She also alleged that Hernandez instructed her to borrow contractors’ licenses to facilitate projects under his control.
