A Pasay court on Monday dismissed a petition by controversial contractor Curlee Discaya seeking his release from Senate detention, ruling that the chamber acted within its constitutional rights when it cited him for contempt.
In a 22-page decision, Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 297 upheld the authority of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to detain resource persons who testify falsely or evasively during legislative inquiries.
Senate President Tito Sotto’s office released a copy of the ruling to the media Monday afternoon.
Discaya has been held at the Senate since September, after lawmakers accused him of lying during a hearing on allegedly substandard and “ghost” flood control projects. The court ruled that Discaya’s conduct “falls squarely” within the grounds that justify the Senate’s exercise of its contempt power.
“His continued detention, therefore, rests on solid constitutional and jurisprudential ground,” the court said. “The integrity of legislative investigations depends fundamentally on the candor of resource persons.”
Discaya had argued that his indefinite detention was unlawful and constituted a grave abuse of discretion. However, the court found that his availability for the ongoing investigation serves a “legitimate and subsisting legislative purpose.”
The contempt citation stemmed from Discaya’s inconsistent statements regarding his wife, Sarah Discaya, who is also a government contractor. Sarah Discaya had skipped the Senate hearings citing health issues, but was later detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Jail in Cebu on separate charges of graft and malversation of public funds.
The couple is under investigation as two of the top contractors allegedly involved in a series of controversial flood control projects.