The Senate denied the Christmas furlough request of contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and three former Department of Public Works and Highways engineers detained at the Senate over their alleged links to anomalous flood control projects, citing security risks and the expectation that arrest warrants will be issued before the holidays.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said Senate President Vicente Sotto III approved his recommendation to reject the leave requests of Discaya and former DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and Henry Alcantara.
“I recommended to the Senate President that their request for Christmas furlough be denied mainly for security reasons, owing to the repeated media statements from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and President Bongbong Marcos that arrest warrants against them will be issued before Christmas,” Lacson said in a statement.
“So the risk of escape becomes greater, not to mention that it makes no sense to grant such requests for Christmas leave if indeed warrants are coming out by then,” he added.
Lacson said the four detainees will only be allowed to hear Mass within the Senate and may receive family visits inside the premises during the holidays. “That’s the most that we can allow given the circumstances,” he said.
Discaya was earlier cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for lying about the absence of his wife, Sarah, during a September 18 hearing on questionable flood control projects. Hernandez was cited in contempt on September 8, while Alcantara and Mendoza were cited on September 18.
The four remain under Senate custody as the investigation into alleged irregularities in flood control projects involving the Department of Public Works and Highways continues, with authorities signaling that criminal cases and arrest warrants are expected before the year ends.
