Two contractors at the centre of the Philippines’ growing flood control scandal have named nearly 20 lawmakers and government officials they accuse of demanding kickbacks and offered to turn state witnesses, but legal experts say their alleged role in the scheme could undermine their plea for immunity.
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In sworn testimony presented to the Senate on Monday, Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya and Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya – a married couple – claimed that corrupt politicians and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials routinely pressured them for illicit payments, sometimes name-dropping House Speaker Martin Romualdez and his ally Zaldy Co as supposed beneficiaries.
Six construction companies founded by the couple and their son, Gerrard William Francisco Discaya, bagged 345 solo and joint projects worth 25.2 billion Philippine pesos (US$440.6 million), dubbing them the “king and queen of flood control”. A total of nine construction companies are linked to Discaya and her husband, handling infrastructure projects related to flood control, roads and building construction.
Two of the Discayas’ companies, Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corporation and St. Timothy Construction Corporation, were named in a list of the top 15 contractors that hogged 100 billion pesos worth of government flood control projects since 2022.
In an affidavit read aloud during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, the Discayas said lawmakers had demanded “no less than 10 per cent and even up to 25 per cent” of contract values, calling such payments “standard procedure” in public infrastructure bidding.
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