80 vehicles? We’re checking - Discaya lawyer

Metro Manila, Philippines - The legal camp of the Discayas - embattled contractors linked to anomalous flood control projects - said they are verifying Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada’s claim that the family owns 80 vehicles, half of which are luxury cars.

“Nirerespeto ko po si Senator Jnggoy kung yun ang nakalap niya sa LTO (Land Transportation Office). Ido-double check po namin,” Cornelio Samaniego III said in a press briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

[Translation: We respect Senator Jinggoy if that’s the information he got from the LTO [Land Transportation Office]. We’ll double-check it.]

Samaniego said he had spoken to Curlee Discaya by phone after Estrada’s revelation on Tuesday.

“Sabi niya baka ‘di pa nailipat ‘yung [registration ng] mga ibinenta nilang sasakyan ng previous years,” Samaniego said, recalling his conversation with Discaya.

[Translation: Curlee said it’s possible some of the vehicles they sold in previous years haven’t had their registrations transferred yet.]

Sarah Discaya, Curlee’s wife, appeared before the Senate blue ribbon committee on Monday and admitted that the family owns 28 luxury vehicles, while their companies collectively have 12 additional vehicles. She defended their wealth, saying the family has been in the construction business for 23 years and denied involvement in ghost projects.

However, during a Senate plenary session the next day, Estrada presented a list of vehicles linked to the Discayas, totaling 80.

Of this number, only 63 are registered with the LTO, Estrada said. He noted that three luxury vehicles mentioned by Sarah during the Senate hearing were not found in LTO records, along with eight other vehicles mentioned by the couple in a now-viral interview.

The Bureau of Customs earlier seized 12 luxury cars belonging to the Discayas to verify their importation records. Initially, the agency found only two vehicles at St. Gerrard Construction, one of the Discayas’ companies, located in Pasig City.

Samaniego clarified that the rest of the vehicles were either in use or undergoing maintenance at the time.

“Wala ho kami tinatago kasi kung illegal yun or di nakarehistro bilang abogado pag di mo ibinalik yana guilty ka. Kaso ho andon, nakita ng Bureau of Customs so ano ibig sabihin nun legal ang mga sasakyan,” he said.

[Translation: We’re not hiding anything. If the vehicles were illegal or unregistered, as a lawyer, I’d be guilty if I didn’t return them. But the Bureau of Customs already saw them - so that means they’re legal.]

At least two of the Discaya firms are among the top 15 contractors identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as having the most government-awarded flood control projects. Sarah Discaya earlier admitted that their family owns nine construction companies. All of these firms have had their licenses revoked after she confessed that they sometimes submitted bids for the same government projects.