No safe haven for Discayas in Senate probe

National

WITNESS protection is off the table for the Discaya couple after Senate President Vicente Sotto III withheld his signature on a request to shield them under the Department of Justice (DOJ) program.

A letter drafted by then-Blue Ribbon committee chair Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and addressed to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had asked that the Discayas, Sarah and Curlee, owners of St. Gerrard Construction, be granted state protection. The couple had testified in the Senate’s inquiry into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

In his September 8 letter, Marcoleta noted that the Discayas had already given extensive testimony and could still provide additional information relevant to the Senate inquiry spurred by Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s privilege speech “Flooded Gates of Corruption.” He also cited reports that the couple and their family had received threats, arguing that these circumstances justified their inclusion in the Witness Protection Program.

Sotto, however, left the letter unsigned and offered no explanation for his decision.

Questions over whether the Discayas could even qualify for state protection have also surfaced.

Rep. Terry Ridon argued that the contractors should face charges rather than be treated as witnesses.

“As I have mentioned before, they can be charged with plunder, and the evidence itself will be their sworn affidavit where they themselves admitted their involvement in the corruption,” Ridon said in a Philstar report.

DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV confirmed that the agency is still evaluating the couple’s offer to cooperate. He noted that based on their own statements, the Discayas may have actively taken part in the anomalies.

“It appears that from the start they’ve been in collusion with other contractors and politicians before the start of projects. That way, they’re also co-conspirators,” Clavano said in the same report.

In a separate development, dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez was transferred yesterday to the Pasay City Jail after initially being held at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame. The Senate cited him in contempt during its corruption hearings on flood control projects.

The move followed a contentious exchange in the Senate. Marcoleta objected to Sotto’s earlier order placing Hernandez in Camp Crame, pointing out that the chamber itself had custody over the former official.

Sotto explained that his order came at the request of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who expressed concern for Hernandez’s safety after the engineer implicated Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva in the controversy.

Marcoleta countered that Hernandez was cited in contempt for a different reason — his refusal to admit using fake IDs to gamble in casinos, where district engineers allegedly laundered kickbacks from government projects.(MyTVCebu)