Discaya claims Duterte execs asked for commissions from flood control projects but it 'wasn't successful'

Contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II of St. Gerrard Construction said Tuesday that public officials during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte also asked him for commissions or payoffs in exchange for his flood control contracts.

He clarified he did not include them in his affidavit submitted before the Senate probe on Monday. 

Discaya replied, “Meron rin naman pong nanghihingi" (Some also asked) when asked by Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro if public officials are asking him for money in exchange for the contracts.

Discaya said he did not include them in his Senate affidavit because the attempts to ask for money "were not successful."

“Nonetheless, there were some who asked,” Luistro said. “There is a rule on evidence: false testimony in one is false testimony in all. Why the sudden selective amnesia, Mr. Discaya. How do you explain that during the past administration, you are top contractor and yet you are claiming na walang nanghihingi unlike during the current administration? Your affidavit is full of inconsistencies and lies."

The lawmaker dared Discaya to identify the officials who asked for commissions.

Discaya reasoned out that his affidavit was just a response to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s crackdown on anomalous flood control projects.

Luistro junked Discaya’s reasoning and asked him again, prompting Discaya to relent and name a certain Department of Public Works and Highways district engineer, Art Pascual, who is already dead.

“Si DE Art Pascual, patay na po siya. Kawawa naman. Bago po siya namatay, pinablacklist niya po kami dahil sa negative slippage, siya po talaga nanghihingi sa amin,” Discaya said.

This earned the ire of House infrastructure committee chairperson and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, who called out Discaya for accusing a dead person who can never respond to his testimony.

“Huwag kang magbanggit ng pangalan ng patay na. Bakit pangalan ng patay ang binabanggit mo eh hindi na iyon makakasagot sayo,” Ridon said.

“Hindi namin tatanggapin iyang mga ganyan. Tinatanong ng pangalan, pangalan ng patay? Hindi mo na nirespeto iyong tao,” he added.

Billionaire

During the same hearing, Deputy Speaker Janette Garin said the revenue of the eight construction companies owned by the Discayas reached P1 billion to as much as P20 billion from 2017 to 2022 during the Duterte administration.

Garin cited Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) records of  financial statements of the Discaya-owned firms involving government contracts.  The firms are St. Gerrard Construction, Alpha and Omega Gen. Contractor and Development Corp., St. Timothy Construction Corporation, Amethyst Horizon Builders, St. Matthew General Contractor and Development Corporation, Great Pacific Builders and General Contractor Inc., YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply, Inc. and Elite General Contractor and Development Corp.

SEC data revealed that the eight Discaya companies recorded P99 million in revenues from government contracts in 2016, before breaching the P1 billion mark in 2017, the first full year of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Discaya companies then posted revenues of P12 billion and P13 billion in 2018 and 2019, although they slightly decreased to P11.5 billion in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a worldwide lockdown.

Still, the Discaya companies were able to bounce back and again raked in P16 billion in revenues in 2021 and P20 billion in 2022.

For the year 2023, which was the last entry presented by Garin, the Discaya companies still posted P18 billion worth of revenues.

Asked to confirm the figures, Discaya initially said, “Yes, your honor,” only to later say he would check it with their company records.

“From P99 million to P1 billion. This is an increase of 942%. Then, in 2018, it reached P12 billion, then to P13 billion, and in 2020, ito yung panahon na marami ang nawalan ng trabaho, marami ang uncertainties, marami ang namatay, marami ang lumubog sa utang, dahil napakamahal ng testing sa Pilipinas, the most expensive COVID testing...ito yung panahon ng ating mga healthcare workers ay hindi na nasuswelduhan ng tama...pero ang Discaya group of companies, ang revenue nila from government, wala sa pribado ay P11 billion. In 2021 when we were still in lockdown, P16 billion,” Garin said.

(This is the time when people are losing jobs, having uncertainties, many people died, people were buried in debt, people cannot be tested for COVID-19 because testing kits are too expensive, the health workers are not being appropriately compensated, and yet the Discaya group is earning P11 billion in government contracts.)

“In 2022, which is supposed to be the first pandemic recovery year, umakyat ang revenue ng Discaya group of companies with P20.5 billion. With due courtesy to Mr. Discaya, maybe they took advantage of the situation. Hindi mo iniisip ang ibang tao,” Garin added.

(They took advantage of the situation. They did not think of other people.)

In response, Discaya said the SEC records on their revenues, which are based on their firms' submissions, do not tell the whole story.

“Gross revenue lang po 'yan, Your Honor. Tinatanggal rin po diyan 'yung mga operational expenses. At may mga lugi pa po diyan,” Discaya said, who also said during the hearing that their revenue is worth 10% to 15% of the project, a departure from his initial statement before the Senate probe wherein he said it is just at 2% to 3%.

(You have to deduct operational expenses, and there are projects when we recorded a loss.)

“May mga projects na wala po kaming kita,” he added.

(There are projects  wherein we did not record any profit.) 

Discaya then disputed the SEC records, which are records based on submissions by firms, including the Discaya companies.

“Hindi po ganyan kalaki po ang nakalagay sa data namin at hindi po ganyan kalaki ang nakuha namin sa DPWH [contracts],” he said.

Luistro said that Discaya's admission in an affidavit submitted before the Senate flood control probe is already an admission of plunder, if not other related criminal charges involving the stealing of public funds.

“Your narration in your affidavit involves millions.  It is a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. If the case is more than P50 million, it constitutes a violation of the Plunder law. I want you to realize that the violation of Plunder law is punishable by life imprisonment and a no-bail offense," she said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News