MANILA, Philippines — Congressmen and public works officials were tagged as pawns of Speaker Martin Romualdez and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, in a sworn statement from owners of a construction firm who alleged years of kickbacks and political pressure to secure public works contracts.
Contractor couple Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya read a sworn statement before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing yesterday, where they accused 18 district and party-list congressmen of pocketing up to 25 percent of project funds, saying kickbacks had become the norm in doing business with the government.
Citing their experience, the couple said the scheme began when a contact offered them access to national-level projects through connections in Congress – if they paid.
The Discayas alleged that these congressmen were responsible for demanding shares from projects and that the practice had become entrenched since they began handling government projects in 2016.
“They demanded no less than 10 percent and even up to 25 percent,” the couple said in their statement read before the committee chaired by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta. They said kickbacks were made in cash and supported by vouchers and ledgers, which the committee subpoenaed for the next hearing.
Those named in the affidavit were Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, Quezon City Reps. Marvin Rillo, Marivic Co-Pilar, Arjo Atayde, Michael Vargas; Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, Caloocan Rep. Dean Asistio, San Jose del Monte Rep. Florida Robes, Romblon Rep. Eleandro Madrona, Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr., Quezon Rep. Reynante Arrogancia, Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Antonieta Eudela, Occidental Mindoro Rep. Leody Tarriela and Laguna Rep. Benjamin Agarao Jr.
Party-list representatives on their list include Uswag Ilonggo Rep. Jojo Ang, AGAP Rep. Nicanor Briones and An-Waray Rep. Florencio Noel.
They pointed to former presidential undersecretary Terrence Calatrava as conduits of the scheme.
Malacañang cautioned the Discayas against naming names without evidence. “You cannot just name-drop. They need to have complete evidence,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing in Cambodia yesterday.
“We had to accept the reality that we needed to bribe lawmakers if we wanted to continue having government contracts, otherwise we could get delisted and our company barred from getting any projects,” the Discaya couple said.
According to them, once a project was awarded, Department of Public Works and Highways officials or their representatives would approach contractors to demand a percentage.
The Discayas said these funds were often collected by district engineers or project officials who claimed to be acting for senior officials or politicians. Among those identified in their statement were DPWH regional director Virgilio Eduarte, Unified Project Management Office director Ramon Arriola III and Public Works Undersecretary Robert Bernardo.
“Most of the DPWH officials mentioned would repeatedly claim that the delivery of money would be for Zaldy Co, at least 25 percent,” they said.
System of ‘kotong’
The Discayas said the engineers facilitated both the release of projects and the collection of cash, creating what they described as a tightly knit system of “kotong” within the agency.
Congressman Rillo of Quezon City, they said, had repeatedly namedropped Romualdez as “one of his friends” and that his projects in the city were funded from “unprogrammed funds and insertions.”
In several instances, the Discayas claimed they personally handed cash to lawmakers or their relatives, including Rillo, Briones, Noel, Madrona, Teodoro and the father of Atayde.
They added that despite losing up to a quarter of project funds to kickbacks, their company still managed to deliver quality work. “Although funding cuts had posed a great challenge, we still carefully followed specifications indicated in Program of Works,” they pointed out.
The couple further alleged that projects were often stalled by some of the officials using technicalities as an excuse if the demanded cuts were not met. These included sudden disapproval of project plans, unexplained right-of-way obstacles or the issuance of stop orders that jeopardized completion.
The couple said they were willing to testify as state witnesses, adding they were compelled to play along with the scheme under threat of disqualification, termination of projects or even physical harm.
But Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Discayas should first return the money they earned from anomalous projects before they can qualify as state witnesses.
“We played along even if it’s against our will. We were repeatedly used by those in power under this system. We couldn’t do anything because if we did not cooperate, they would create problems for our projects,” they said.
They insisted they had no ghost or substandard projects, despite evidence presented before the committee, particularly by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
While the Discayas admitted to being accomplices to the scheme, all the other contractors present at yesterday’s hearing denied involvement in such schemes.
However, senators – particularly Sen. Raffy Tulfo – took exception to the “overtones” in the Discayas’ sworn statements that made them appear to be the victims rather than accomplices.
Botched UP project
Tulfo also confronted Curlee over the botched P30-million renovation of Rizal Hall at UP Manila, which was supposed to be handled by their St. Timothy Construction Corp in 2018.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know this. This is a school, not just an ordinary building,” Tulfo said.
The senator said such negligence not only wastes taxpayer money but also deprives students of essential facilities, especially considering that enough budget was given for the project.
Aside from the P30-million initial budget, Tulfo found out that repair/rehabilitation of existing classrooms and common areas of the century-old Rizal Hall, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Manila was allotted P100 million in the 2021 General Appropriations Act.
Curlee initially tried to shift accountability to the DPWH, citing suspensions and extensions, as well as lack of approval from certain school officials. But Tulfo stressed that public school projects cannot be delayed indefinitely when funds have already been released.
Curlee was later obliged to submit a full report and all necessary documents to the committee explaining why the project has not been completed despite being fully paid.
The Discayas also told senators that alleged kickbacks in government infrastructure projects eat up as much as 30 percent of a contract’s cost, leaving contractors with only two to five percent profit at best.
Asked by Tulfo to explain, Curlee said the deductions include a “25 percent” share for lawmakers who funded projects through insertions and a “five percent” parking fee, collected in one go.
“It’s 30 percent because 25 percent ‘para sa taas’ and the five percent for Cong. Roman Romulo as insertion,” Curlee said.
Tulfo asked whether contractors deliberately cut corners to recover losses. Discaya denied this, saying their projects still passed DPWH testing.
“More often, we have to accept losses, but if we’re lucky we get two percent to three percent, and if we’re luckier, five percent,” he said. The senator said he found Discaya’s claim “unbelievable,” considering the wealth they had flaunted.
Pressed further by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada if lawmakers had personally received money amounting to 25 percent of contracts, Discaya said there had been such cases, as most collections were handled by their chiefs of staff.
“For example, Cong. Madrona himself approached us in our office,” Discaya said.
He cited a case where a project was terminated when they initially refused to pay Marikina’s Teodoro.
“So what happened was, we were forced to pay so there would be new bidding,” he said.
Teodoro denied dealing with the Discayas and said he was planning to prepare charges.
Zaldy Co also issued a statement yesterday, dismissing Discaya’s claims as mere hearsay and politically motivated. — Alexis Romero