Habeas corpus petition filed for Curlee Discaya, says lawyer

A lawyer has filed a habeas corpus petition for embattled contractor Curlee Discaya, almost a month since he was first cited in contempt by the Senate.

“Syempre, we’re trying to set Curlee free from Senate custody, ‘ di ba? So ‘yun naman ang purpose ng habeas corpus,”  lawyer Cornelio Samaniego III said in an ambush interview.

(Of course, we’re trying to set Curlee free from Senate custody. So that is the purpose of the habeas corpus.)

Discaya was cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for lying about the absence of his wife, Sarah, during a hearing on anomalous flood control projects on September 18.

Last week, the Blue Ribbon Committee suspended initial plans to resume the probe. 

Samaniego said their filing was affected by the suspension of the Blue Ribbon hearings.

“Uncertain ‘yung kuwan namin eh, ‘yung client namin kung kailan siya palalayain,” he said.

(Our client is uncertain on when he will be freed.)

Earlier, the Bureau of Internal Revenue filed multiple tax complaints against the Discaya couple and a corporate officer over P7.1 billion in tax liabilities.

Samaniego declined to comment on the complaint. —RF, GMA Integrated News