Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson announced on Tuesday, Dec. 23, that contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II, along with three former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers detained at the Senate in connection with the flood control projects corruption scandal, will not be granted holiday furlough due to security concerns.
Lacson, who also chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that is probing the issue, said Senate President Vicente Sotto III approved his recommendation to deny the leave requests of Discaya and former 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 Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that arrest warrants against them will be issued before Christmas,” Lacson said.
“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.
Discaya and the former DPWH engineers were detained at the Senate after being cited in contempt by the Blue Ribbon Committee for refusing to cooperate in its flood control project investigation. (Dhel Nazario)
