Sotto: Discayas ‘instigators,’ not small fry

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Saturday pushed back against claims that contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya are minor players in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, saying available financial records and testimonies point to a far more central role.

Sarah contested the city’s mayoral post against Sotto in the 2025 midterm elections.

In a social media post, Sotto cited findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which showed that bank accounts linked to only four of the Discayas’ nine companies recorded inflows exceeding P180 billion.

“Don’t fall for their propaganda that the Discayas are ‘small fish,’” Sotto said. “If we look closely, they are not just contractors, but instigators.”

He said the couple has operated across several administrations and congressional leaderships, describing a pattern in which they allegedly courted lawmakers and their staff to present available Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) funds.

According to Sotto, Curlee Discaya was known to boast about how much could be advanced to congressmen in the form of percentages or standard operating procedure payments.

Sotto acknowledged public frustration over what he described as the slow pace of accountability, but said the situation has shifted in recent months.

“Six months ago, we didn’t even know the scale of corruption in the DPWH,” he said. “Six months ago, the Discayas thought they would be untouchable forever. Momentum now seems to be in the right direction.”

The mayor also raised concerns over the alleged involvement of the couple’s children, noting that several companies were named after them and reportedly awarded large government contracts.

Sotto said one son, Matthew Carl, acquired St. Matthew Corporation in 2022 at age 18 for P245 million, a company that later secured at least P17 billion in DPWH projects.

Another son, Gerrard William Francisco, registered Way Maker General Contractor at age 18 in 2021 with P50 million in authorized capital and P12 million paid-up capital. In 2023 alone, the firm reportedly landed about P3 billion worth of infrastructure projects.

“Mr. and Mrs. Discaya, you did not just steal — you helped and taught your children to steal,” Sotto said in Filipino, which he translated as an accusation of deliberate wrongdoing within the family.

He added that the couple’s public statements have been inconsistent, noting that they previously claimed to have grown wealthy through DPWH projects, only to later say they earned little or even lost money.

Sotto also alleged that the Discayas have threatened former employees who may testify against them and have attempted to solicit cash from lawmakers in exchange for exclusion from alleged ledgers used for blackmail.

He urged the public to remain vigilant and continue pressing for accountability as investigations move forward.