Contractor Pacifico Curlee Discaya, accompanied by his wife Sarah, produced a ledger during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Friday, Nov. 14, allegedly documenting kickbacks received by lawmakers and former officials linked to the flood control project scandal.
Curlee named Representatives Roman Romulo, Marvin Rillo, Dean Asistio, Patrick Michael Vargas, Marivic Co-Pilar, Jojo Ang, former undersecretary Terence Calatrava of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), and former DPWH Usec. Roberto Bernardo.
He even mentioned certain dates and percentages, including the amounts.
It was Senate President Vicente Sotto III who asked whether Curlee and his wife, Sarah, had submitted their ledger to the panel.
“I remember that we asked for the ledger from Mr. and Mrs. Discaya. In fact, there is a subpoena duces tecum issued. So, did you submit it already? Can we have it?” Sotto said in mixed Filipino and English.
The so-called ledger was mentioned by Curlee in previous hearings, reportedly containing records of kickbacks, ranging from 10 percent to 25 percent, allegedly given to public officials implicated in the anomalous flood control projects.
In response, Discaya said he had yet to comply with the order because he had been detained in the Senate and had no opportunity to locate the ledgers. Sotto then asked him to seek the assistance of his wife, who is not detained, but Discaya replied that she had no knowledge of the ledger since he was the one who dealt directly with some of the politicians.
Senator Erwin Tulfo suggested that they be accompanied by members of the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA) of the Senate to retrieve the ledger. (Dhel Nazario)
