Discaya fails to recall profits, kickback-seeking politicians in Duterte admin
MANILA, Philippines — Since the Senate hearing, the Discaya family has not mentioned much of their construction firms' operations during the Duterte administration. Even at the House flood control probe, Curlee Discaya said he could not recall the projects they won.
Three particular House lawmakers made this clear when they grilled Discaya for his contradictions at the House Infra Comm's second hearing on Tuesday, September 9.
When Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan Party-list) pressed him on his family’s net worth amounting to billions, Discaya argued it was the product of 23 years in the construction business.
During this time, Discaya said their firms had already won flood control contracts, dating as far back as the Arroyo and Aquino administrations.
Diokno then asked how many projects were awarded to him during the Duterte administration, since all the construction magnate had talked about were years that excluded the years 2016 to 2022.
Discaya could not give a ballpark figure of either the number of projects or how much they were worth.
What the data says. Yet a report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) shows that St. Gerrard Construction alone bagged P12.3 billion in infrastructure contracts in Duterte’s first full year as president.
The firm ranked among the top contractors during the Aquino and Duterte administrations — and is only one of nine construction companies tied to the Discaya family.
The Discaya patriarch, however, called PCIJ's numbers inaccurate as they included projects that were allegedly terminated. In the end, he said, they only secured around P3 billion.
Despite this, Discaya told Diokno he could furnish the joint committee with the needed details of the projects they secured during the Duterte administration.
Revenue jumps eleven-fold in a year
Rep. Janette Garin (Iloilo, 1st District), however, revealed an even more staggering figure of the Discayas' gross income from 2016 to 2023.
Citing financial statements, Garin discovered that eight of their contracting firms had earned P74.92 billion in gross revenue from 2016 to 2022 from government infrastructure projects.
What stunned her even more was how the Discayas' profit skyrocketed to P1.034 billion in 2017 from only P99.25 million in 2016.
A year later, their gross revenue soared even higher, reaching P12.05 billion — about eleven times more than in 2017.
Rep. Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro Party-list), who chairs the joint committee, managed to bring out a confirmation from Discaya on the gross revenues. Discaya said, "More or less po, siguro."
The construction magnate, however, did not disclose their net income despite Ridon's persistent prodding. Instead, the committee required Discaya to submit records stating the net revenue of his family's firms.
'Selective amnesia'
Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (Batangas, 2nd District) also quizzed Discaya. One of the questions she asked was an explanation for the large revenue generated during the previous administration.
Discaya said "no one was soliciting" from them, that's why his affidavit only lists those from 2022.
Luistro asked if he was trying to say that no kickback scheme took place during the Duterte administration and only happened in the Marcos Jr. administration, but Discaya insisted there were none. They fought in a "genuine bidding process," he said.
But the explanation did not make sense for the lawmaker, so she asked again. And for the nth time, Discaya disputed himself when he said, "May nanghihingi rin po sa amin, pero ang totoo po ay pinapadyaryo po namin." (Some asked kickbacks from us, but the truth is we had them published.)
He added that it was mostly Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials.
"Your Honor, mayroon din naman pong nanghihingi pero takot din po sila. Takot sila 'pag nagpapadyaryo po sila," Discaya said. (Your Honor, there are those asking from us, but they are also afraid. They fear getting published in the newspaper.)
Unsuccessful bribes. Luistro then asked Discaya why he did not name those individuals in his affidavit, to which he said the kickback scheme "didn't turn out successful."
When pressed to name names, Discaya claimed he could no longer remember. He mentioned one official who had already died after blacklisting them, but struggled to identify anyone else.
The most he recalled was a regional director in Calabarzon in 2018 to 2019, when, he said, they refused to give the 10% cut allegedly demanded by someone high up in government. He also could not name this individual.
Upon hearing his response, Luistro stressed it would be difficult for the House to believe in his testimony if he could come up with a list of DPWH officials and members of Congress during the Marcos Jr. administration, yet fail to name those from past presidencies.
"There is an admission already from the resource person that even during the past administration ay may nanghihingi. However, it appears na he refused to disclose the names unlike the way he did in his affidavit when he identified the alleged lawmakers and DPWH officials," Luistro said.
The lawmaker also questioned whether Discaya is suffering from "selective amnesia," even though his firm topped the contractors that cornered billions in government contracts during the Duterte administration.
"Hindi pwedeng ang i-disclose mo lang, ‘23 up to ‘24, and then 2016 to 2022, nakalimutan mo na. How can that be possible Mr. Discaya? The veracity of your affidavit is full of inconsistencies. It is full of false testimony,” Luistro said. stressing how his testimony only casts doubt on his claims.
The House Infra Comm dissected Discaya's affidavit piece by piece, revealing the inconsistencies and contradictions in many of his statements, both in what he wrote and what he shared in both congressional investigations into flood control anomalies.
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