Curlee, Sarah Discaya arrive at DOJ for witness protection application

Contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and his wife Sarah on Friday went to the Department of Justice to undergo evaluation for his application to the Witness Protection Program.

Curlee Discaya arrived at the DOJ compound past 8 a.m. and went inside the building at 9:20 a.m. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest and escorted by personnel from the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and PNP Police Security and Protection Group.

LOOK: Contractor Curlee Discaya arrives at the Department of Justice to be evaluated for his application to the Witness Protection Program @gmanews pic.twitter.com/LHRz4UK14i

— Joahna Lei Casilao (@joahnacasilao) September 19, 2025

Sarah Discaya, on the other hand, arrived at 10:30 a.m.

Sarah Discaya arrived at the DOJ at around 10:30AM for her evaluation pic.twitter.com/fnsTlytHgO

— Joahna Lei Casilao (@joahnacasilao) September 19, 2025

The Discayas left the DOJ at around 12:30 p.m.

Curlee will be brought back to the Senate where he is detained after he was cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee for lying about the absence of his wife, Sarah, during the probe into the anomalous government flood control projects.

In an ambush interview, Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said Discaya will meet with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and the WPP Director.

He said Discaya will read his affidavit for Remulla to evaluate whether the information he has is sufficient.

“Kailangan po maging truthful, kailangan po sabihin ang lahat ng nalalaman nila. We cannot afford to be selective in this process dahil po that will affect, no, their application sa pagiging protected witness,” Clavano said.

(It is necessary to be truthful, they need to disclose everything they know. We cannot afford to be selective in this process because that will affect their application to become a protected witness.)

The Discayas, who previously expressed interest in being state witnesses, disclosed the names of several congressmen, their staff, and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways who are allegedly involved in corruption of the flood control projects.

Remulla, however, previously found that the Discayas were not forthcoming with their information, making him unsupportive of their bid to become state witnesses. 

He also said that the Discayas need to return ill-gotten funds, if any, to the country's coffers before they can be considered as state witnesses. 

Clavano said that Remulla will likely bring up the possible return of any ill-gotten funds, adding that this will show the Discayas’ sincerity.

“It shows sincerity of the witnesses if they are willing to acknowledge that they have taken money in an illegal manner such as corruption before they are able to tell the truth, and I think it will supplement the truth if they are able to give back what is not rightfully theirs,” he said.

When asked about what would happen should the government find out that witnesses lied, Clavano stressed that protection is a “privilege” 

He affirmed that witnesses may be detained or charged with perjury.

“At any given time, if the truthfulness is attacked or we find out that there are— their statements [are] meant to derail or distract the investigation, that privilege can be taken away as well,” he said.

He urged all possible witnesses to be ready to provide the truth and not derail the investigation.

Meanwhile, Clavano said they received no reply from Sarah Discaya.

Clavano also differentiated between a protected witness, which is under the WPP, and a state witness, which has to be discharged by a trial court. 

“Kumbaga po, we will see kung may risk sa kanilang buhay at kung worthy sila sa protection ng WPP,” he said. 

(In other words, we will see if there is a risk to their lives and if they are worthy of the protection of the WPP.)

READ: What does it take to be a state witness?

Clavano, meanwhile, said that the DOJ is welcome to any witnesses. 

“We want to ensure the safety of all the witnesses who are willing to come out. And this is actually an offer to all those who want to be protected as witnesses if they have anything or any information that they can share with the department,” he said.

“This is a call to all those who are involved to come forward with their information para ma-evaluate po natin,” he added.

He assured that the information shared by the possible witnesses will be kept confidential and within the DOJ.

When asked about the statements of witnesses contradicting each other, Clavano said that this will affect the application of the individual lying.

“Obviously, if there are two statements that are contradictory, then one of them is lying, and obviously we have to get to the bottom of that. And that will affect their application for protection,” he said.

He also said that all cases will also have to be screened and vetted by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

Clavano said this is because the Justice Department is not conducting a “parallel effort” but more of a “concerted effort” between the two.

“You can expect in the next few days na mag-coordinate na lang po kami kay ICI to determine and identify what the mechanisms are,” he said. —AOL, GMA Integrated News