Pasay court junks Curlee's petition vs continued Senate detention

A Pasay court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by big-time contractor Curlee Discaya seeking relief from his continued detention in the Senate after he was cited in contempt for allegedly lying during a flood control hearing in September.

In a 22-page decision, a copy of which was shared with the media by Senate President Tito Sotto’s office, the Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 297 upheld the constitutional authority of the Senate, particularly the Blue Ribbon Committee, to conduct legislative inquiries and cite resource persons in contempt when warranted.

The court sustained the validity of the contempt order issued against Discaya.

It ruled that Discaya’s conduct “falls squarely” within the grounds that allow the Senate to exercise its contempt power.

These grounds include when a resource person disobeys any order of the committee, testifies falsely or evasively, or refuses to appear or produce documents or object evidence required by the panel despite a subpoena.

“His continued detention, therefore, rests on solid constitutional and jurisprudential ground, and his continued availability for the investigation serves a legitimate and subsisting legislative purpose,” the decision reads.

“The integrity of legislative investigations depends fundamentally on the candor of resource persons. A person who provides inconsistent or misleading information before a legislative committee — whatever his or her reasons — undermines the very inquiry that he or she purports to support,” it added.

Discaya had argued that his indefinite detention by the Senate was unlawful, unconstitutional and tainted with grave abuse of discretion.

He drew the ire of the Blue Ribbon Committee during a September hearing on alleged irregularities in flood control projects after giving inconsistent answers about the condition of his wife, Sarah Discaya, who failed to attend the probe citing health issues.

Sarah Discaya is currently detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Jail in Cebu on charges of graft and malversation of public funds, while Curlee remains under Senate detention.

The couple is among the contractors accused of involvement in ghost and substandard flood control projects.