Discaya schooled on rights, grilled at House probe for flip-flops in sworn statement
MANILA, Philippines — Businessman Pacifico "Curlee" Discaya claimed at the Senate flood control probe that no senators were involved in the alleged kickback scheme involving public officials. But when he was asked to confirm at the House parallel inquiry, Discaya invoked his right against self-incrimination.
This was the first time Discaya, whose family has control over nine construction firms contracting with the government, appeared at the House Infra Committee's hearing on anomalous flood control projects.
Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list) dissected the sworn statement Discaya submitted to the Senate, noting how the list of public officials he enumerated contained the phrase "ilan sa kanila ay sina (some of them are)."
In other words, the names Discaya mentioned at the Senate hearing were incomplete, which he confirmed.
"Gusto ko pong tanungin sa inyo kung pwede niyo na po kami bigyan ng kompleto na listahan. ... 'Yun po bang mga hindi niyo pa pinangalanan dito, miyembro pa rin ng House of Representatives o miyembro na ng Senado?" De Lima asked.
(I want to ask you if you could provide us with the complete list. ... Are the individuals you did not name in this list a member of the House of Representatives or member of the Senate?)
"Your Honor, I invoke po muna my rights po," Discaya responded, turning to his lawmaker.
"Rights? Exactly what right?" De Lima wondered.
Discaya did not state what right he was referring to, but he explained that he is unsure of the documents he could mention. De Lima, confused, said she does not understand what kind of right in the law he is invoking.
What right?
The minority lawmaker schooled Discaya, saying as a witness, he may invoke his right against self-incrimination. Rather than directly answering the lawmaker, Discaya asked if he could have an executive session instead "for his safety."
De Lima, however, pointed out the contradiction and inconsistencies in his statement. If he is capable of name-dropping House lawmakers and Speaker Martin Romualdez in a public proceeding, she said it doesn't make sense and is unfair.
"Gusto mo pa rin ba magbanggit ng mga pangalan?" she asked. (Do you still want to mention any more names?)
"Hindi po, Your Honor," Discaya answered. (No, you're Honor.)
De Lima then said that asking for a closed-door session is all the more nonsense, especially if it may not even be a matter of national security. She told Discaya to confer with his lawyer to clarify what qualifies for an executive session.
Discaya backtracks. The businessman then made a 180-degree turn, saying he will no longer invoke his right against self-incrimination and that he will no longer mention any more names.
In an attempt to justify the phrasing of his affidavit, Discaya said he wasn't guided by his lawyer in writing the sworn statement, which was executed on September 6.
How did they earn billions with just 2-3%
Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan Party-list) also did not spare Discaya in his interpellation, pointing out the inconsistencies and contradictions the construction magnate made.
Discaya claimed at the Senate probe that only 2-3% of a government project typically goes into their pockets, and they would be lucky to even secure 5% of the contract amount. He even said they sometimes operate at a loss.
Diokno pressed him on how much his family was able to earn from a project. Around 12-15%, Discaya said, disputing his very own statement at the Senate.
"So hindi lang naman 2-5% lang ang kinikita ninyo?" Diokno asked.
"Yes po, Your Honor," Discaya answered.
The minority lawmaker further questioned the family's net worth, recalling an interview the Discayas had. In the said interview, Discaya corrected his wife, saying it was roughly 10 to 11 digits. This is equivalent to billions.
Discaya confirmed this to be true, but attempted to bury the statement, saying their net worth "wasn't that much."
Diokno quickly caught on, asking for a direct statement on how much they own, and Discaya — for the second time — confirmed it reached billions.
"Ah yes, umabot naman po kung isasama po 'yung iba pang properties," he said. (Ah yes, it reaches [billions] if we include some of our properties.)
The minority lawmaker said that his statements of earning from 2-3% per project do not align with the fact that the Discaya family is already worth billions. Discaya, however, argued that they've been in business for 23 years already.
Vico Sotto calls them 'lies'
Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, who also attended the hearing, told the joint panel outright that the Discayas were clearly lying about the portion they earned from each government contract.
It is unbelievable, he said, for someone to bid for government contracts only to lose money or go bankrupt.
"They have to present evidence, of course, and I think we really have to be careful because in our experience with them... these are people who are really capable of lying without batting an eyelash," Sotto added.
The House Infra Committee's investigation was prompted by the executive's discovery of flood control anomalies across the country, including substandard and ghost projects in flood-prone provinces.
Two of the Discaya-linked firms were among the 15 contractors who bagged 20% of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects during the first half of the Marcos Jr. administration.
The Discayas, however, insisted they had no ghost projects, even after the president himself flagged one of their awarded projects that was later abandoned.
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