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Senators suspect Discaya firms favored in DPWH bidding
MANILA – Senators on Monday raised suspicions that construction companies owned by businesswoman Sarah Discaya and her relatives were being favored in bidding for flood control and other infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
During the continuation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s inquiry into alleged anomalous flood control projects, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada pressed Discaya to explain how her family’s nine companies were consistently winning government contracts.
Records presented at the hearing showed that Alpha and Omega General Contractor & Development Corporation alone secured 71 flood control projects in 2022 out of 491 bidding attempts, while St. Timothy Construction Corporation, managed by a relative, bagged 145 projects since 2022.
Estrada questioned why Discaya firms seemed to corner hundreds of contracts, raising concerns that they might have been given early access to project listings from DPWH insiders.
“Nakakapagtaka dahil kayo lagi nakakuha ng DPWH contracts. Sino ba talaga sa DPWH ang nagbibigay sa inyo listahan ng mga projects for bidding (It is puzzling that your companies always get DPWH contracts. Who in DPWH gives you the list of projects for bidding)?” Estrada said.
Discaya denied having special access and insisted that her companies only participated in public biddings posted on the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), the government’s online procurement platform.
“Wala po akong nakakausap sa DPWH. Nakikita lang namin sa PhilGEPS at sumasali kami sa bidding na alam naming qualified kami (I do not talk to anyone in DPWH. We only see the projects on PhilGEPS and join the bidding we know we are qualified for),” she told the panel.
She admitted, however, that her office staff was limited to about 200 employees, prompting Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros to ask whether the firms were renting out their licenses to boost capacity.
“Kahit 200 lang ang staff sa opisina, kaya nilang mag-implement ng halos 500 projects in a year (Even with only 200 office staff, they were able to implement nearly 500 projects in a year),” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros also presented nine calling cards linked to Pacifico “Curly” Discaya, Sarah’s husband, showing his name tied to several of the companies.
This, she said, underscored the family’s control over multiple firms participating in the same pool of DPWH projects.
Estrada warned Discaya against evading questions, demanding that she submit documentation and photos proving the completion of more than 400 projects she claimed to have undertaken since 2022.
“Kung wala kayong kasalanan, magsabi kayo ng totoo. Dahil kung hindi, mananagot kayo hindi lamang sa batas at sa Senado, kundi sa taong bayan (If you are not guilty, then tell the truth. Otherwise, you will be held accountable not just under the law and in the Senate, but also before the people),” Estrada said.
The inquiry, chaired by Senator Rodante Marcoleta, is scrutinizing alleged ghost and substandard projects under the government’s flood control program, with senators saying billions in public funds may have been misused.
