Sarah Discaya, contractors summoned in Senate flood probe
MANILA, Philippines — Failed Pasig mayoral candidate Sarah Discaya and several contractors were notably absent from the Senate’s opening day of investigating the country’s flood management.
Following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s preliminary analysis of the country’s flood management projects, the Senate launched its own inquiry through the Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.
Discaya was invited but sent an excuse letter citing a prior commitment.
In the committee’s official guest list, Discaya was listed as the president of Alpha and Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp.
Roma Rimando of the St. Timothy Construction Corp. also did not attend, saying that she was in mourning.
Others mentioned during the roll call were Eumir Villanueva of Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc., citing a medical procedure. Aderma Alcazar from Sunwest Inc. also said she was abroad and could not make it back on time for the hearing.
Romeo Miranda of the Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp. and Mark Arevalo of Wawao Builders were also invited, but did not send a reply as of the Senate hearing.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa moved to subpoena Discaya and the other absent contractors to make sure that they showed up in the next hearing. Marcoleta approved the motion.
Sen. Win Gatchalian would later suggest amending the motion, adding that the heads themselves should attend, not just representatives. He reasoned that, based on experience, representatives would not be able to answer sufficiently.
A total of 15 contractors were invited to the committee hearing, with only 11 replying. But among the 11, only seven showed up at the hearing.
“I just hope that this is not a sign of disinterest on their part because this meeting is called precisely to get to the bottom of this problem,” Marcoleta said.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo said that those who were absent must have a reasonable answer when they do show up.
“We are talking about P545 billion. Not a small change,” Tulfo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Marcos named 15 contractors who cornered a huge chunk of the country’s flood management projects, which total up to P100 billion. Five of these firms have operarions across the entire country, including the Discaya-linked firms Alpha and Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp. and St. Timothy Construction Corp.
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