The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the Discaya couple may face up to ₱300 billion in penalties for their alleged role in bid rigging involving more than 1,200 flood control projects across the country.
Secretary Vince Dizon announced that the agency is preparing to forward to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) a list of properties linked to Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and his wife, Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Cruz-Discaya. The list reportedly includes house-and-lot assets worth around ₱1 billion, which authorities say form part of the probe into ill-gotten wealth.
The couple has been at the center of the widening flood control mess after their construction firms were flagged for questionable projects, some allegedly left substandard or incomplete. In earlier testimonies, Pacifico Discaya admitted before lawmakers that contractors like him were compelled to provide kickbacks—commonly referred to as “SOPs”—to secure project approvals, claiming this practice had become deeply entrenched in the system.
Investigators are also scrutinizing the couple’s lavish lifestyle, with the Bureau of Customs citing nearly ₱100 million in unpaid taxes on a fleet of luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Authorities have warned that the vehicles may be forfeited and auctioned if the Discayas fail to justify their importations.
Both the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the ICI have placed the couple’s testimony at the heart of the probe, as their records and ledgers allegedly document payoffs to certain officials. While names have surfaced in hearings, those implicated have denied wrongdoing.
The DPWH said the potential penalties and property disclosures are part of a broader push to hold accountable contractors and officials tied to anomalies in flood control projects, which have sparked public outrage and triggered congressional and independent investigations.
