Metro Manila, Philippines – A Malolos court has ordered the arrest of contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya and nine others for a non-bailable malversation case linked to an anomalous flood control project in Bulacan.
The Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 20 issued the arrest warrant on Friday, June 5, a day after the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation cases against the Discayas and other public works officials.
Also in the arrest list is the couple’s colleague in St. Timothy Construction Corp., Ma. Angeline Discaya Rimando, who is general manager.
The court also ordered the arrest of the following officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways:
- Merg Jaron Laus
- Brice Hernandez
- Jaypee Mendoza
- Ernesto Galang
- Norberto Santos
- Lorenzo Pagtalunan
- Juanito Mendoza
- Floralyn Simbulan
Some have already been detained for separate cases. Sarah Discaya is detained in Cebu for a different malversation case, while Hernandez and the two Mendozas were brought to the New Quezon City Jail in January.
Curlee has been in Senate custody since September after he was cited in contempt during the blue ribbon committee flood control investigation.
The graft and malversation case stemmed from a ₱53.9-million river rehabilitation structure in Calumpit, Bulacan, which the DPWH called substandard.
Ombudsman investigators found out that payments for the project’s first billing were issued despite an unapproved disbursement voucher. They also discovered that full payments for dredging and embankment items were made without any basis for computation and proper documents.
