Members of the House of Representatives were quick to deny the imputations of big-time contractor Curlee Discaya at the Senate hearing on Monday, accusing them of receiving kickbacks in the multi-billion-peso flood control projects.
Discaya, who runs nine construction firms with his wife, Sarah, told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and at least 19 House lawmakers, including Speaker Martin Romualdez, had demanded 10 to 25 percent commissions for every flood control project awarded to them.
The commission serves as a “condition” to ensure that the release and the implementation of the said projects will not incur delays or problems.
Romualdez, as alleged by Discaya, had received a large cut of the commissions along with Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, the chairperson of the House committee on appropriations in the previous Congress.
The commissions, however, were not directly delivered to Romualdez and Co but coursed through Uswag Ilongo Rep. Jojo Ang, who also has his separate cut, according to Discaya.
Romualdez, in response, vehemently denied Discaya’s daring accusations, branding them as “false, malicious, and nothing more than name-dropping.”
The House chief asserted that Congress has no hand in releasing the funds and that the institution’s power is limited to scrutinizing and approving the annual budgets.
He pointed out that project implementations fall outside of Congress’ scope, adding that executive agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are the ones responsible for it.
“If anyone invoked my name, they did so without my knowledge and without my consent. And if they did it to make money, they are the scammer and they should be held accountable,” Romualdez said partly in Filipino.
“I have never, and I will never, accept a bribe from anybody…I am self-made…I do not need — and will never allow myself — to be corrupted by money that does not belong to me,” he contended.
For Pasig Roman Romulo, Discaya’s “malicious and fabricated allegations” against him are mere “black propaganda.”
To recall, Romulo ran for reelection in the recent mid-term polls with the slate of Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, the contender of Discaya’s wife, Sarah.
Discaya alleged that Romulo’s commissions for the flood control projects were channeled through DPWH engineers starting in 2022. This year, Discaya claimed that Romulo’s demand cut further increased to 30 percent.
Romulo insisted that he was “never involved in any bidding nor in selecting contractors for DPWH projects” and that Discaya’s affidavit in the Senate was an attempt to “shift blame, and evade accountability for matters properly within their responsibility.”
Marikina Rep. Marcy Teodoro strongly posits that this is the price he got for exposing irregularities in the 2026 proposed budget of the DPWH, where items for nearly all flood control projects in his district still have pending allocations despite the projects having already been completed.
Furthermore, he said the DPWH projects awarded to Discaya were approved around 2020 or 2021, when he was still the mayor, making it impossible for him to be linked to the anomalies in the flood control.
“I had nothing to do with [those projects] because I wasn’t a congressman at the time. So it is clear that these accusations are false, malicious, and have no purpose other than to tarnish my name and the trust of the people of Marikina in me,” Teodoro lamented.
Teodoro, Quezon City Reps. Patrick Michael Vargas and Marivic Co-Pilar, and ex-San Jose del Monte, Bulacan lawmaker, now Mayor, Florida Robes are eyeing to press charges against Discaya for implicating them in the scheme.
Vargas claimed that Discaya had “zero” projects in his district, while Co-Pilar claimed she had never met the couple.
Romblon Rep. Elandro Jesus Madrona also contended that he never engaged in any business dealings with Discaya, while Robes asserted that there are no “ghost” projects in her district.
In the same vein, Quezon Rep. Arjo Atayde, who was also accused of involvement, strongly denied that he benefited from any contractor.
“These accusations are not true. I have never used my position for personal gain, and I never will. I will avail of all remedies under the law to clear my name and hold accountable those who spread these falsehoods,” Atayde said.
Other lawmakers implicated by the Discayas are Caloocan Rep. Dean Asistio; AGAP Rep. Nicanor Briones; Laguna Rep. Benjamin Agarao Jr., Occidental Mindoro Rep. Leody Tarriela; Quezon Rep. Reynan Arogancia; ex-AN WARAY Rep. Florencio Gabriel Noel, ex-Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco, and ex-Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Antonieta Yudela.
The parallel investigation in the House of Representatives is set to hold its third hearing today, Tuesday, despite strong opposition from some lawmakers to drop the probe and leave it to an independent body, citing conflict of interest.
Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier claimed that 67 House members in the previous Congress had complete control over the project funds because either they or their relatives were the contractors for the government’s flood mitigation program.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong made a similar accusation, alleging that lawmakers were receiving kickbacks of 30 to 40 percent from flood-control and infrastructure projects.