Magalong cries foul over claims on Discaya project in Baguio: I think I struck a nerve

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Thursday described the accusations against him as “below the belt” in relation to the allegedly anomalous P118 million worth of tennis court built by a Discaya-owned company in his city.

Magalong, who recently stepped down as special adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, said the tennis court project went through an open and transparent bidding in 2022.

The project was awarded to St. Gerrard Construction Company, which is owned by contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya.

“Suddenly, here comes the below the belt naman na accusation, na ay dahil may project si Discaya doon na maanomalyang tennis court—sobra na ‘yan. ‘Yan ang hindi ko ma-take. Parang pinapalabas mo pa na corrupt ako, ayan na mag-aaway na tayo diyan,” Magalong said.

(Suddenly, here comes a below the belt accusation just because the Discayas have an anomalous tennis court project in the city. That’s too much. That's what I can't take. It's like you're saying that I'm corrupt. We're going to have a fight over that.)

“Unang una, sabihin ko nga, kung corrupt ba ako lalabanan ko ‘yang mga very powerful na tao diyan? You have to make sure that you have the moral ascendancy bago mo labanan ang mga tao, otherwise masisira ka rin. Nonetheless, I think I struck a nerve,” he added.

(First of all, if I were corrupt, would I fight those very powerful people there? You have to make sure that you have the moral ascendancy before you fight those people, otherwise you will be destroyed. Nevertheless, I think I struck a nerve.)

'Callousness, hypocrisy'

Magalong also commented on Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr.'s remark that his former colleague in the House and in the party-list group, Zaldy Co, made a sacrifice when the latter resigned amid allegations of corruption tied to the flood control projects.

"Nagnakaw ka tapos sasaibihin mo sacrifice on your part, and it’s not an abandonment? Ganyan na ba kababa standard sa Kongreso?" Magalong said.

"Ganyan na ba tayo kawalang-hiya, manhid? Callousness, hypocrisy. Nakakainsulto sa mentalidad nating Pilipino,'' he added.

(You stole money, and then you will claim making a sacrifice and that it's not an abandonment? Is that how low our standards have gone in Congress? Is that how we have become shameless and callous? That is callousness and hypocrisy. It insults our mentality as a Filipino.)

GMA News Online is getting Garbin and Co's side and will publish it as soon as it becomes available.

Magalong was a resource person during the hearing of the Senate committee on science and technology which tackled a measure mandating the establishment and implementation of a national budget blockchain system to enhance transparency, accountability, and public participation in the budget process.

When Magalong was appointed the ICI special advisor, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said that she has talked with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. regarding the alleged anomalous tennis court.

The mayor previously assured that a third party audit is being conducted regarding the Discaya projects in Baguio, including the tennis court.

He said that the court has minor defects like the placing of the pavement removes the paint. 

'Hypocrisy'

At the House of Representatives, House Infrastructure Committee chairperson and Bicol Saro party-list Representative Terry Ridon said Magalong was being a hypocrite for taking offense over the scrutiny he is facing concerning the tennis court.

“Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has only himself to blame for his current woes in the ICI. It is the height of hypocrisy for a public official who styles himself as a champion of transparency, accountability, and good governance to reject public scrutiny of projects within his own local government,” Ridon said.

“The reason for scrutiny of a particular project is not marginal—it is highly relevant, as it involves one of the central personalities in flood control corruption: the Discayas and one of their key firms. This directly tests Mayor Magalong’s integrity and commitment to transparency, as he himself, as the city’s Head of Procuring Entity, has engaged a contractor linked to ghost and substandard projects,” Ridon added.

Ridon said that it is also suspicious that Magalong failed to disclose that a major Discaya firm had in fact been involved in Baguio City projects when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. already publicly disclosed the involvement of the Discayas and other flood control contractors in the mess last August 11.

Further, Ridon said the Discayas themselves admitted control over multiple contracting firms, including St. Gerrard Construction.

“For more than a month—from the President’s disclosure until the news article’s publication—Mayor Magalong said nothing about this project, all while continuing to speak publicly against corruption,” Ridon said.

“This failure to disclose and his continuing rejection of scrutiny do not speak well of his actual commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance—particularly when it comes to his own affairs,” Ridon added.

GMA News Online has reached out to Magalong as regards Ridon’s remarks and will publish it as soon as available. — with Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ/NB, GMA Integrated News