There will be no holiday furlough for contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and three former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers detained by the Senate over the multibillion-peso flood control project scandal.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said Vicente Sotto III approved his recommendation to deny the group’s request for a Christmas furlough, citing serious security concerns and the possible issuance of arrest warrants.
“I recommended to the Senate President that their request for Christmas furlough be denied mainly for security reasons, owing to the repeated media statements from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that arrest warrants against them will be issued before Christmas,” Lacson said.
“So the risk of escape becomes greater — not to mention that it makes no sense to grant such requests for Christmas leave if indeed warrants are coming out by then,” he added.
Discaya and former DPWH engineers Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and Henry Alcantara are being held at the Senate after being cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for refusing to cooperate in its investigation into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Lacson, who chairs the committee, said granting holiday leave would be illogical under the circumstances. “It makes no sense to allow Christmas leave if warrants are expected to come out,” he said.
Under Sotto’s decision, the detainees will be allowed only limited privileges, including attending Mass within the Senate and receiving visits from family members, but they will not be allowed to leave Senate premises.
“That’s the most that we can allow, given the circumstances,” Lacson said, backing Sotto’s decision.
Alcantara had earlier sought holiday leave through the Department of Justice, but the request was also denied.
Beyond the furlough issue, Lacson urged the Office of the Ombudsman to act on its public commitment to file cases before the Sandiganbayan and other courts against those allegedly involved.
“I hope the Ombudsman can make good on their timelines to file the information before the Sandiganbayan and other venues, assuming that probable cause is clearly established against those responsible for the plunder of public funds,” Lacson said.
He stressed that swift action would send a strong signal that corruption will not go unpunished, particularly as the proposed 2026 national budget remains under close public scrutiny.